Using Extensions in novel ways

[Grrilla]

My first list of "cool" names played around alot w/ dot ie polka".", bouncing"." etc. Never got as extreme as L00k (00, bein zeroes) and some of the other novelties and have since "grown up" and outside of a recent weak moment when I acquired dotcomps.com, don't spend time going there.

Recently, however have been tempted w/ .CA, as I live in California and see some cool possibilities. (Incidentaly, assigning .CA to Canada was opening the door to this kind of usage IMHO. California's Gross State Product is more than double the Gross National Product of Canada and due to the long name, CA is used much more frequently than California in emails, notes letters and most informal mediums.

To cut to the chase, what opinions do you have on using , ca .is .be .it .me and other exts in instances where the name/phrase has 1) *alot* of traffic and/or 2) is *very* familiar and receives alot of usage?:gl: :?

 

[g0ldy]

I would use .ca for California

 

[Grrilla]

Who do you recommend buying .ca through?

Oh... sorry g0ldy-ran right by the "would"

 

[Jeff]

I like the ".CA" for California, as well ... but alas it is for "Canada".
Link: http://www.cira.ca/en/home.html

To register and own a ".CA" one must meet the "Canadian Presence Requirements" for registrants (as described on the site).
That being said, development is the key with these extensions unless there is a valid registration/ownership and/or a relevant End user is located, IMHO. www.whois.sc is a great example where content eclipsed the general obscurity of the extension (which I don't believe here is held to the same "presence requirements", much like the ".CC", ".WS", etc.).

 

[Grrilla]

Don't believe I technically qualify so let it pass. Other, better exts to spend effort w/. The .US has, or, at one time, had, a similar requirement. But, if other policy measures are an indicator, .CA requirements are probably enforced by the Canadian gov, wheras .US requirements are not enforced by the USA. The "door that swings one way" syndrome, but don't want to get started w/ that other than to say that the Canadian gov has been very clever w/ their citizenship/labor/trade policies, whereas the US Gov has not, and US workers all pay for that. When I was still working full time in the motion picture industry, it never seemed at all fair that I was restricted and could not cross the border to work on an American production (or any production, period) in Canada, but Canadian citizens were freely working in studios and on productions on this side of the border. Don't resent the Canadians one iota, just p~~sed off w/ my own government for allowing/creating an unlevel playing field for it's own citizens in this particular area. Sorry about OT tirade, but this, as you can see, is an area that really gets me going! :bah: :kickass:

 

[CoolGuy]

.ca is nice

 

[jj2ii3344]

I personally like .ca as well, it looks professional enough for me ^^

 

[Grrilla]

I like .ca also, just dont meet the "Canadian Presence Requirements to own it, as I read it at www.cira.ca. Hey, jj2ii3344, maybe you could buy it for me. Hehe. On a serious note, if I cannot indeed buy the .ca ext, I will pass along a list of some very good .ca names, (w/*high* search engine results).

Well, gettin back to the topic (that I diverted us away from), is there value, albeit a limited number of oppurtunities, w/ playing off of some of the more "playable" exts. ie charge.it, eye.be, LosAngeles.CA, TheWinner.is, Find.me, Germanma.de etc

 

[Jammer]

I have a couple of .ca's that have more traffic than some of my com's,but that's relative.
The cost is more than .com/net/org and personally I don't think it's worth the extra cost.
There are many noncanadians that own .ca's...I personally don't think the residence restrictions are enforced unless complaints are made.
If you "need" to have a .ca,I'm sure someone would be willing to help you out.
There are still a lot of prime .ca's available.

 

[Grrilla]

TX Jammer.
BTW to all Canadians:
I have some good Canadian friends, I like Canadians (in general), and above mini-tirade was not directed at you or your country. I once was bounced off of a TV series that moved to Canada and lost some big bucks. I think the Canadian government has intelligently built an film production infra-structure and wish my country would be so smart.

 

[jj2ii3344]

I heard Canadian .CA domains are expensive in general! Sure Michael! Do you know where I could register .ca at the lowest price??

 

[Grrilla]

The best I have seen is $12.95 at http://domains.cadomainsatcost

 

[g0ldy]

Thanks for the links Grrilla

 

[samename]

.ca

It may seem that .ca is obscure to americans but not if you are actually canadian ( and damn proud of it!)

when speculating on the country code extensions of other countries, it is a good idea to look at many factors including what percentage of that countries citizens use it ...

it is actually quite interesting as each country is different

p.s - i know the thread is a harmless one but by the by,

us canadians are intent on creating protective measures to insure our culture, identity, and future ... we have to ... we live next to a giant!

peace

 

[Grrilla]

TX for bringing up the point as to usage % by country.

Peace to you and your countrymen also. My comments are due to some old battle scars, were OT, and sorry I brought subject up here. Doesn't impact me directly today and I can see the other side of the issue more clearly. Got any room up north for a semi-retired old hippie and his lady? Je parle assez francaise d'avoir une petite conversacione. (Can't spell it worth a lick, however). Being part of a "giant" can get to be very tiring and wasn't something I could plan for at birth. :zzz: :hehe:

 

[samename]

can-am domains

Always room in the big white north for decent folk ...

good thread ... i've been doing alot of thinking about country codes and the various alternate uses beyond that of being assigned to the particular country ...

the .tv common usage sort of annoys me ... but if the people of tuvalu want to sell off their virtual realestate ... so be it

back to work ... the mind is a terrible thing

 

[Grrilla]

Heres a link to the all country codes and their corresponding abbrev/ext.: Country Codes :talk:

Of these, my picks for best exts for word play: ad, al, am, an, as, at, az, be, by, bz, ca, ch, do, er, hr, id, in, iq, is, it, la, mr, ms, mt, my, nu, pg. so, sr, tk, to, tv, yu

 

[Tippy]

Funny you mentioned this " .ca for California " I was thinking the same thing about 6 months ago, I thought it could work as well if marketed right.

Mike

 

[Grrilla]

Missed .CO in above list.

Assuming that country codes that are adaptable to novel uses w/ the English Language sell more, and using sales volume as a criterion for winning and losing here are the top the picks (IMHO):

The winners : .CA, .CO. .ID, .IT, .LA, .PG, .TV
Most potential: .CO .PG, ID

The loser (close but no cigar):.bz .biz usurped the potential of this cc (overheard at IANA selection meeting by rep from Belize :"I knew I shouldn't have called the committee head an 'uninspired name cruncher' ".):hehe:

Funny you mentioned this " .ca for California " I was thinking the same thing about 6 months ago, I thought it could work as well if marketed right

You weren't the only one. All worthwhile California cities (from DN standpoint), landmarks, etc are all gone w/ CA ext. Additionally, LA has been combed for good base phrases that work w/ LosAngeles. Living in in LosAngeles County, in CA, I have thought about these also, but haven't researched until recently.

 

[g0ldy]

what country owns .co???

 

[Grrilla]

Columbia

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by g0ldy
what country owns .co???

Colombia

 

[Sharpy]

Many people have thought of using .ca as California. Just try to find one California city that is not registered with the .ca extension. Very hard.

I have Schwarzenegger.ca lol

 

[Jeanco]

I live in Canada, and I my company is under a .ca name - www.jeanco.ca

I like it reserved for Canada and I hope it stays that way (which it will). Some people may have different opinions but I believe that a country takes priority over a state or province when it comes to TLD

 

[Grrilla]

I believe that a country takes priority over a state or province when it comes to TLD

In terms of propriety, I agree. The country comes first, and novelty 2nd. In the case of some countries w/ small populations, however, the major market, is in the novel or unintended use of their TLD cc. (eg. .tv, .tk, .ws etc).

What interests me, is how will names like Vineyards.CA, Surf.CA , LosAngeles.CA play if they were legally owned by California cos. w/ business interests in Canada? (Names used in hypothetical examples because of associations and relative values to the two economies).

I have Schwarzenegger.ca lol

You might be LOL all the way to the bank w/ that one if you can hook up w/ the right end user. LOL