Domain game played for fun and profit

[WhoNet]

Domain game played for fun and profit

The Gazette / Sep/10, 2008

You may have heard of Flickr.com, maybe even Zoho.com. But what gives with website names like Squidoo, Shwup, Spottt and Qlubb?

Blame it on the shrinking number of good domain names that are still available. And on cybersquatters, those profiteers who buy up the good names for cheap, hoping to sell them for a small fortune later.

It's a good thing the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees standards of Web addresses, is easing the rules.

Where companies had to register their names with a .com, .net, or a two-letter country code like .ca, they will soon be able to register any top-level domain.

That means in the future you may read this paper at http://www.montreal.gazette. Or read the singer's blog at http://www.celine.dion

But the domain shortage did bring humanity moments of joy. There were actually people who thought someone, somewhere would want to start a business with the following names:

xxyxx.com

uuuuuuuuuu.com

arrrrrgh.com

nononononononono.com

Even real domains had unintentional double meanings, underscoring the importance of choosing a good address. Among the funniest ones:

Travel site Choose Spain:

choosespain.com

The newspaper Winters Express:

wintersexpress.com

Kids clothing:

childrenswear.co.uk

Celebrity agent directory Who Represents:

whorepresents.com

Pen Island, maker of branded pens:

penisland.net

Google Inc. knows very well the threat of cybersquatters, or of potential enemies hoping to smear its name - which is why it bought the following domain names as a precaution:

googlesucks.com

googlefools.com

googleporn.com

But why it registered the following names is anyone's guess:

googledaycare.com

mariolovespasta.com

thesecretofburritos.com

goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooogle.com

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http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=77f797f3-871d-4a56-ab73-fce49e8895cb

 

[NetOctave]

mariolovespasta.com
Creation Date: 2006-06-19

Google might have paid MarkMonitor.com a fortune for registering this domain

http://markmonitor.com/products/domain_management.php