Changes

In September, 2011, Rod Beckstrom was the Keynote Speaker at the Futurecom Information Technology Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There he praised [[CGI.br]], the organization in charge of the Brazilian [[ccTLD]] ([[.br]]), for being one of the only countries in the world to use a multi-stakeholder model to oversee its national Internet infrastructure. He also praised the organization for its work on [[IPv6]] deployment. He then went on to comment on the new [[gTLD]] program being launched by ICANN, and he discouraged brand owners and businesses from applying for a new domain space unless they are ready for the financial and technical responsibility of continually running a [[registry]]. He said, “I want to make clear that ICANN is an organization that is not advocating new gTLDs for anyone. Our role is merely facilitation to implement the policy and the programs approved by our community, so we are here to educate not to advocate.”<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-12sep11-en.pdf ICANN News Release]</ref> Given that Mr. Beckstrom is often criticized for his high-profile and controversial role, this speech was no exception; one commentator noted how after all the work ICANN had undertaken to create the program, it seems like a terrible PR move to discourage people from applying.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/09/13/gtld-comms-masterplan gTLD Comms Masterplan, news.dot-nxt.com]</ref>

In September, 2011, Rod Beckstrom was the Keynote Speaker at the Futurecom Information Technology Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There he praised [[CGI.br]], the organization in charge of the Brazilian [[ccTLD]] ([[.br]]), for being one of the only countries in the world to use a multi-stakeholder model to oversee its national Internet infrastructure. He also praised the organization for its work on [[IPv6]] deployment. He then went on to comment on the new [[gTLD]] program being launched by ICANN, and he discouraged brand owners and businesses from applying for a new domain space unless they are ready for the financial and technical responsibility of continually running a [[registry]]. He said, “I want to make clear that ICANN is an organization that is not advocating new gTLDs for anyone. Our role is merely facilitation to implement the policy and the programs approved by our community, so we are here to educate not to advocate.”<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-12sep11-en.pdf ICANN News Release]</ref> Given that Mr. Beckstrom is often criticized for his high-profile and controversial role, this speech was no exception; one commentator noted how after all the work ICANN had undertaken to create the program, it seems like a terrible PR move to discourage people from applying.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/09/13/gtld-comms-masterplan gTLD Comms Masterplan, news.dot-nxt.com]</ref>

That stop in Brazil was the first stop in a larger global tour that Mr. Beckstrom undertook to spread awareness of new [[gTLD]]s and the implications for brands, individuals, and the future of the Internet.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-3-14sep11-en.htm Announcement, ICANN.org]</ref>

That stop in Brazil was the first stop in a larger global tour that Mr. Beckstrom undertook to spread awareness of new [[gTLD]]s and the implications for brands, individuals, and the future of the Internet.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-3-14sep11-en.htm Announcement, ICANN.org]</ref><ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-27sep11-en.pdf Sept.27, 11, ICANN.org]</ref>

==Career History==

==Career History==