21-10-08, 08:19 PM
It's difficult to believe that there was a time when you could pick a company name, apply to register it as a domain and have a pretty good chance of securing it. Now, each new domain suffix that's released prompts a scramble to register all available variations. The recent launch of .me was no exception.
When the new suffix went live on 17 July, over 50,000 domain names were registered in just two days. This created a running total of 80,000 registrations, including pre-registered names.
However, not everything went according to plan, so we here. Technical glitches at domain reseller GoDaddy meant that several people were able to `register' the same domains, including the much sought-after www.aweso.me. A search of Twitter reveals a dozen or more punters claiming to have their hands on the prize. The domain still fails to resolve at the time of writing and a whois search fails to return registration details. GoDaddy issued an apology after setting the blogosphere alight with indignation, apologising for connectivity issues caused by high traffic volume. Nevertheless, the company claimed a triumph, issuing a press release trumpeting 20,000 registrations in the first 24 hours of the suffix's availability.
Ultimately though, is a .me domain name worth it? Anecdotal evidence suggests that casual web users in the UK still expect web addresses to terminate in .com, with .co.uk coming a close second. There are few high profile sites that dare to deviate from this norm, but exceptions suggest that it's not the domain but the site and its content that count in the end.
If the domain name aweso.me is coupled with a globally useful service, it will trip off the fingertips. It would be a waste for it to end up as a vanity site or the gateway to a local furniture warehouse.
When the new suffix went live on 17 July, over 50,000 domain names were registered in just two days. This created a running total of 80,000 registrations, including pre-registered names.
However, not everything went according to plan, so we here. Technical glitches at domain reseller GoDaddy meant that several people were able to `register' the same domains, including the much sought-after www.aweso.me. A search of Twitter reveals a dozen or more punters claiming to have their hands on the prize. The domain still fails to resolve at the time of writing and a whois search fails to return registration details. GoDaddy issued an apology after setting the blogosphere alight with indignation, apologising for connectivity issues caused by high traffic volume. Nevertheless, the company claimed a triumph, issuing a press release trumpeting 20,000 registrations in the first 24 hours of the suffix's availability.
Ultimately though, is a .me domain name worth it? Anecdotal evidence suggests that casual web users in the UK still expect web addresses to terminate in .com, with .co.uk coming a close second. There are few high profile sites that dare to deviate from this norm, but exceptions suggest that it's not the domain but the site and its content that count in the end.
If the domain name aweso.me is coupled with a globally useful service, it will trip off the fingertips. It would be a waste for it to end up as a vanity site or the gateway to a local furniture warehouse.
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