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There's been a lot of media attention on the new TLD process in the last few days, which is a good thing. Unfortunately most of it is badly written, misleading or simply misinformed.

Let's look at the reality.

To start with, there are currently 20 gTLDs ie. "global" top level domains (extensions). (21 if you include arpa) These are:

1. com
2. net
3. org
4. info
5. biz
6. mobi
7. name
8. museum
9. pro
10. cat
11. aero
12. asia
13. coop
14. jobs
15. tel
16. travel
17. edu
    
18. gov
19. mil
20. int

There are a further 248 ccTLDs (country codes, such as "ie", "im" etc) - I won't list them here!
 
During the ICANN meeting in Paris the new TLD process was officially started (based on community feedback ie. it didn't come out of nowhere).

What that means in plain English is that ICANN said "let's do this", but they didn't say "how", "when" or "how much".

In reality what has happened so far is that there has been a LOT of discussion and debate and disagreement. There will be more to come in the coming weeks and months as the process moves forward.

First off ...

Can anyone get a TLD?

No.
In order to get a TLD you would need to meet criteria on multiple levels, both financial and technical.
A lot of the media coverage seems to suggest that just about anyone who wants to can run their own domain extension - the reality is that they can't.

How much will it cost?

The application fee is currently set at $185k, however you would really need to have a couple of million in the coffers if you wanted to actually launch a TLD. (As was pointed out to me the costs would be lower for a non-commercial TLD)
The application fee does not cover any legal costs, backend costs, marketing, staff, PR etc., Depending on the TLD you are interested in setting up you might also need to have lobbyists working with you..

When will the new TLDs be available?

At the moment there is no exact date.
ICANN are pushing for opening the application process in Q1 of 2010.
Bearing in mind that applications won't be accepted immediately and that any new TLD operator would need a "ramp up" period, I doubt if there would be any launched until 2011 at the earliest.

What about trademark holders? Will people be able to "squat" on brand names easily?

Trademark holders have been engaged in the process and the IRT report was published recently. In essence TM holders' concerns will need to be addressed as part of the process, though other parties rights should not be ignored.

Who is planning on launching new TLDs?

Nobody knows exactly who will be applying, as some people are in "stealth" mode, but there is a partial list of possible TLDs here.

The applicants fall into several categories:

• cultural / special interest groups - like the Basques or Breton
  
• city domains - New York, Berlin, Paris are all pitching for their own tlds (.nyc, .berlin, .paris)
  
• commercial - too many to even begin naming
  
• other - single registrant type applications for example if BMW were to get .bmw
  

How much will registering one of these new domains cost?

The cost for registering a domain name will depend on the registry operator.

What about IDNs?

Some organisations are trying to launch IDN TLDs (ie. domain extensions that not only support non-Latin characters, but are actually made up of non-Latin characters)

Should small businesses owners be concerned?

In short - no.

Without knowing which new TLDs will launch it's impossible to give sage advice to small business owners at the moment, I would, however, encourage them to "keep an eye open". If a New York based business doesn't register the corresponding .nyc domain, for example, they could end up missing out on a fantastic opportunity. However the same business wouldn't gain much from registering a .paris ...

What about privacy?

This is still a matter that is being debated. If new registry operators were to adopt a whois policy similar to that of .tel (Telnic) which protects private individuals it would be ideal.

What about spam? What about phishing?

Nobody is going to be able to setup a TLD for the sole purpose of abuse. Anyone who tells you otherwise is seriously misinformed. Spam and phishing isn't a TLD specific problem anyway.

If anyone has any other questions or queries they feel need addressing please let us know via the comments and I will do my best to respond.

DotMobi have released a very cool suite of Wordpress tools to help Wordpress users make their .mobi Wordpress sites mobile ready (ie. so that they pass the ready.mobi test)

The plugin looks like it has pretty much everything to make your .mobi site completely mobile ready and friendly:

• Mobile switcher to detect mobile visitors and provide an appropriate experience
• Base mobile theme for quick-and-easy XHTML-MP compliance
• Extended mobile themes so you can unleash your mobile creativity
• Transcoding and device adaptation to optimise the mobile experience
• DeviceAtlas integration for world-class adaptation
• Mobile admin panel for when posts can't wait
• Mobile ad widget to make you some money (you can choose between Adsense and Admob)
  
• Barcode widget to help users bookmark your blog

NB: Your Wordpress site will need to be running on php5 in order for this to work

Full details on the dotMobi developer site

If you don't have a .mobi domain, then why not get one now?

On a related note, dotMobi CEO Trey Harvin is shortlisted for an IIA NetVisionary award, so why not vote for him now? Voting closes today

On days like today I wish I had a Blackberry or an iPhone...

Telnic, the guys who run dottel, have made available some new applications for users of Blackberry and iPhone.

If you have either device you can grab the software on the Telnic downloads site (mobile accessible)

I'd love to know how people get on with the software and am almost tempted to get myself an iPhone or Blackberry just to try it out ..

While I missed the first half of Dragon's Den (Irish edition) this evening, I was following the chatter on twitter

It's 2009, so most of the entrants have a web presence of some kind.

Unfortunately, from what I was able to see, a lot of them experienced issues with their websites both during and shortly after the programme aired.

I've no idea how many people watch TV with a laptop close by, but judging by the level of activity on twiiter (the #ddire tag becoming one of the most popular this evening) there was a lot of interest.

It doesn't matter who you host your website with, but if you don't do some advance preparation a sudden spike in traffic can take you offline.

So here's a small bit of free advice for anyone going on Dragon's Den.

Talk to your web developers.

Talk to your hosting provider.

Maybe you need to move your website to a beefier machine.

Maybe you need to tweak your website's code to improve responsiveness.

Maybe you need to invest a little bit more in hosting.

Even if the Dragons don't decide to invest in your business idea those few minutes on primetime national TV are worth their weight in gold. If your website is slow or "dead" then you're losing possibly your best chance at "getting your name out there".

If you're moving your domain to us from another provider please read our basic guides on moving hosting provider and transferring domains.

Once the domain has actually been transferred to us you will need to update the DNS servers (nameservers) so that the rest of the internet knows to look to our servers and not those of your previous provider.

I've put together this brief screencast to show you how to make the changes:




If you have any queries please do let us know.
If you're having problems viewing the tutorial please go to our Youtube channel where you can select to view a higher resolution version.

Once you've got over stuffing your face with turkey, ham and Christmas pudding then you'll probably want to check out the post-Christmas sales (we'll announce ours early in the New Year).

This year's sales should be quite interesting both online and offline. The great thing about online shops is that they never close, so you can order what your heart desires at any time of the day (or night)!

The only frustration with sales is seeing that gift you bought your loved one two or three weeks ago now being offered at a fraction of the price! It would almost make it worth your while to postpone your family Christmas for a few days to take advantage of the discounts!!

Personally I'll be doing my best to restrain myself, though I may not succeed!