.CLUB Domains LLC
| Organization | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Commercial |
| Focus | New gTLD Applicant |
| Region | NA |
| Country |
|
| City | Oakland Park |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Colin Campbell |
| Websites | |
.CLUB Domains LLC was the applicant of the .club gTLD within ICANN's new gTLD program. It was also the gTLD's first sponsoring organization. Currently, the sponsoring organization for .club is Registry Services, LLC.
.club's mission, as stated by .CLUB Domains LLC, is to better serve clubs and associations, which it believes are not adequately represented by current gTLD offerings such as .com and .org. The entity was one of the first public applicants within the program, given that many potential applicants kept their own plans under wraps. This public presence has included sponsorship of ICANN Meetings, including ICANN 43. They believe that this public presence has allowed them to create excitement around the potential extension and elicit support from those interested.[1] This support has also taken the form of fundraising to aid in the successful acquisition and delegation of the string.[2] Application related financing was secured, and contingent financing to ensure that .CLUB Domains wins the extension in a potential auction was also been received.[3]
The organization has operations in the USA, Canada, Ukraine, and the Philippines.[4]
.CLUB Domains LLC filed their application with ICANN on the first possible day, January 12th, 2012. The organization was aware of several competitive bids for the .club extension and believes that these bidders have no intentions of running an actual registry; .CLUB Domains LLC has expressed no interest in bargaining with them and prefers to win the extension in an open auction. Collin Campbell wrote in his blog, "We have been approached by a number of companies who are applying for .Club. Our belief is that is best not to negotiate with these companies or individuals but win the name through an open and fair auction process." [5][6]
The audience for a .club TLD is potentially large, given that clubs come in all sorts of sizes and that there are countless clubs around the word, furthermore, belonging to a given club is something that individuals and companies often take great pride in. It also has the added benefit of being a word that is often used in its English form in other languages, such as French, Spanish, and Italian.[7]
There were two other applicants for .club: Donuts, and Merchant Law Group LLP.
Background[edit | edit source]
.CLUB Domains LLC was started by successful, serial entrepreneur Colin Campbell. His previous endeavors include co-founding both Tucows (1998) and Hostopia (2000), and acting as the founding director of The Canadian Internet Registry Association (CIRA).[8] He has also served as the Director of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP).
Other current projects include GeeksForLess.com, Sharkfin Networks, and Brisk Mobile.
His companies have received a number of awards and recognized distinctions, including: Profit magazine's 7th fastest growing company in Canada (1997), 2nd fastest growing company in Canada (1998), #1 fastest growing company (2005) and Inc magazine's top 500 fastest growing companies (2005).[9]
References[edit | edit source]
ICANNWiki resources: Special Pages | Content Guide | Documentation | Development || Maintenance: Articles needing attention | Candidates for deletion || Projects: Internet & Digital Governance Library