Use Outlook dotcom for free domain name email accounts

Why pay for email? And I mean email using your domain name -- yourname@domainname.com --

Why I use Outlook.com for my custom email accounts (and how you can too) | ZDNet: "I’ve just converted several domains that had been running on ancient POP servers to a modern, cloud-based infrastructure. And it didn’t cost a dime. You can do the same . . . I could have chosen Google Apps for Business or Office 365, but either of those options would have meant a hefty annual bill . . "

Tutorial Guide to using outlook.com with your domain name: http://www.zdnet.com/why-i-use-outlook-com-for-my-custom-email-accounts-and-how-you-can-too_p2-7000015546/

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Rule 1 on Starting a Business

Rule 1: Get the Domain Name first -- Do not start or make any public announcements UNTIL after you have obtained your business domain name -- if in doubt, register several names (you can always sell the ones you do not use later, or redirect them to your main business website) --

How to Get Your Startups' Technology Up and Running Today | Entrepreneur.com: "Thanks to a bevy of cloud-based applications, you can be in business faster than it takes for the cable company to install your internet connection. Follow our steps to get the technology side of your venture up and running today.
Step 1: Lock down a URL or domain name for your website through a registrar . . .
Step 2: Set up your website. . . ." (read more at link above)

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Everything wrong with ICANN and new generic top-level domains (gTLDs)

Pretty much everything wrong with ICANN and its new generic top-level domains program (gTLDs) is summarized in the article at the link below (excerpt follows), and although it is specifically referenced from the gay community's point of view, the points made are relevant across the board --

ICANN generic top-level domains: The battle for .gay and .lgbt.: How the ICANN Top-Level Domain Scheme Puts LGBTQ Organizations at Risk - " . . . . For many years, ICANN was cautious about creating new ones [gTLDs]. There are currently a total of 22 . . . ICANN seems to have gotten greedy...it is clear that ICANN and related bodies can generate plenty of revenue from a massive expansion. The current first wave of creations will take the number of gTLDs from 22 to more than 1,400. Anyone with the money to file—it costs $185,000 just to apply—and follow through on an application could propose a gTLD. The cost of the process was behind the significant opposition to the scheme, particularly from brand owners who are now pressured to apply not only for their own brand as a gTLD (.chase, .omega, .qvc, for example), but may now be compelled to purchase new gTLDs in their area of business to protect their existing trademarks...ICANN's scheme appears very much like a racket on businesses and organizations: Pay or you'll lose visibility on the Web. And small companies and nonprofits run the greatest risks, because their brands can now be associated with hundreds of new TLDs. Even if only a tiny fraction of the 1,409 new gTLDs concern an organization's activity, the cost to pre-emptively protect a name or to wage a legal battle to recover a brand name is beyond the means of most such organizations. . . ." (read more at link above, emphasis added)

And if you throw in the fact that other than ".com," all the other current 22 gTLDs are way underutilized  (Verisign pdf),  there is no need for such a massive expansion other than greed. ICANN (and its greed) is out of control. The internet is being corrupted by special interests and ICANN. For most businesses, organizations, schools, and individuals, the best way forward is to just acquire your ".com," ".net," ".org," ".edu," or your nation's ccTLD and go about business. In the meantime, let ICANN and everyone else waste their time, money, noise, and resources trying to put "lipstick on the pigs." In the meantime, if you care about the internet and its potential for purposes other than making money for ICANN and its special interests, hope and work for reform or replacement of ICANN.

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Good Domain Advice from 2008

TheBuzz: Being the master of your domain(s) | starbulletin.com | Business | /2008/07/27/: "Brand Strategy Group principal Gloria Garvey believes they are right not to sweat it. "If somebody else owns a name that is tangentially relevant to what they're doing, it doesn't matter unless somebody buys it to use it against them." "More important than owning all the dot-whatevers that go with your name is to take what you have, brand it really well and make sure you cross reference it and integrate it throughout all of your efforts," including brochures, advertising and the like, Garvey said."

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89% of US small businesses online prefer dot com domain

In the stock market they say "don't fight the Fed" -- domaining is similar -- if you invest in any extension other than dot com this is what you are fighting:

Starting an Online Business and How to Start a Business Website – Verisign: "89% of U.S. small businesses with an online presence prefer .com for their company website." (go to link above for more information and resources)

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Rick's Prediction on Domain Names

The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog RicksBlog.com | Home of the "Domain King" | Domain King's® thoughts on domain names, web traffic, increasing web sales, success, life & plain old business & marketing 101. Nothing happens until a sale is made.: ". . . .The next 12 months will be what dreams are made of. An avalanche of deals are being done. Stunning deals. So all I can say is don't sell yourself short. You have unique assets that have great value." (read more at link above)

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VeriSign, Domain Names, Dot Coms

VCexp.com: VeriSign, Domain Names, Dot Coms: "Forget the new gTLDs (and the coming morass of confusion, litigation, trademark issues, etc., incited by ICANN) -- "dot Com" is and will continue to be the "gold" of the domain business -- VeriSign 2nd-Quarter Profit Up 23% on Higher Revenue - WSJ.com: "VeriSign Inc.'s (VRSN) second-quarter profit jumped 23% as the Internet-domain-name company reported a double-digit increase in revenue . . . " (read more at link above)

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Study says Domain Names fading, but dot Coms have value

Domain names fading out of fashion? If so, bad news for new gTLDs --

Domain names fading out of fashion: study | Business Spectator: "Internet domain names may be fading out of fashion with a new study revealing that the majority of Australians do not own a web address and do not see the need to invest in one either. Of the 10,000 Australian polled for the study, 87 per cent said they did not own or run a domain name. Two thirds of those surveyed indicated that sites like Facebook and Tumblr serve as an adequate replacement for a presence on the web. The survey – which was jointly conducted by AusRegistry, the .au Domain Administration and analyst firm Effective Measure – comes as a blow for the domain name industry, which is currently trying to promote the benefits of owning a web address amidst the release of new unique top level domain names.  . . ." (read more at link above)

The Australian study also revealed that businesses and consumers who invest in a domain name see value (brand value) in the top level domains (e.g., dot Coms, and in Australia, .au).

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gTLD madness, "Dot Com is the gold standard" - Frank Schilling

Part 1 above, Part 2 below Watch the debate (above), then go back and read Frank's blog entry from 2012 --

In New gTLDs, The Only Certainty is Change « Seven Mile Blog: "For me, today’s snapshot of currency pecking order rhymes with the domain World.  . COM is the gold standard. Universally accepted and used.  Close behind are CC TLD’s; issued and minted by the Country you live in. There are regionally vibrant alternative TLDs like .net, .org, .TV .biz, .me and .co. – some of which are CCTld’s, well marketed and visually appealing as gTLD alternatives. I liken this bunch to currencies accepted in certain instances – like Yen would be accepted in Hong Kong and Korea or Canadian Dollars would be accepted in the northern US states, close to the border. . . ." -- Frank Schilling, May, 2012 (read more at link above)

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Social Media, Engagement, Attention, More Signal, Less Noise

More signal less noise: why attention matters but engagement is a tactic not an outcome. from Reading Room

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Startups, Domain Names, Misspelled Words, Branding

Keyword or Brandable Domain Name? Many have been successful with "made up" names:

What’s in a startup’s name? Why the trend for misspelled words and -ly won’t go away - The Next Web: ". . . . A popular trend that many major players have found success with involves coining new terms. Think of Evernote and Instagram: These companies do such a great job of succinctly describing the product and the experience for the user, they are often used as verbs. Exploring this naming convention could also help companies come up with brand names that are memorable not because they’re short, but because they remind users of the benefit they gain from using and associating with those brands. . . ." (read more at link above)

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Lousy Domain Name Ruins Business

Business owners -- caveat emptor --

Why your terrible domain name is ruining your business: " . . . . Ever wonder why phone numbers only run seven digits? This is because seven is the magic number when it comes to the brain’s memory capacity. Just like phone numbers were formatted around the limits of human memory, you should follow a similar rule for domain names. According to a report from 2011, the most popular length for a domain name was eight characters. In 2010, the average was a bit longer at 10 characters, but among the most popular sites it was actually closer to six characters. So obviously short and sweet rules the day when it comes to choosing a domain name customers will actually remember. Finally, when it comes to what comes after the domain name, .com is still by far the best way to go when trying to brand your company as a leader. While other web destinations like .me and .net have gained traction, the .com ending still sounds the best to customers and potential partners. After all, there were 100 million .com domain names in 2012. . . ." (read more at link above) (emphasis added)

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