We are all familiar with the common Internet domains – primarily the open domains .com, .info, .net, .org. You’ve likely seen a specialized domain such as .edu, .biz or .mil, and you may have even seen a country code domain such as .au for Australia. But beginning in October 2013, the World Wide Web is going to get even bigger.
According to WhatDomain.org, over 1,400 top-level domains will be available. The new domains will be online and each will be a part of a “neighborhood.” Domains will be available in the following neighborhoods:
- Open Neighborhoods – Anyone can register a domain for any purpose – .lol for a laugh or .mom for motherhood sites
- Internationalized Neighborhoods – Top-level domains in other languages
- Geographic Neighborhoods – More specific domains such as cities or regions such as .nashville or .middletennessee
- Specialized Neighborhoods – Websites for specific professions, communities or interests such as lawyers with .esq or Catholics with .catholic
- Gated Neighborhoods – Companies claiming top-level domains to represent brands such as .montblanc or .gucci
These Top-level domains will be rolling out over the next two years. The changes will make the Internet bigger but also more organized.
Visit http://www.whatdomain.org/faq to learn more about the upcoming changes.
