If you have customers who applied for domains during either Sunrise A or B that failed validation, you might wish to let them know in case they are still interested in obtaining any of those domain(s) for registration.

These domains would simple show as available after 16:00 UTC, and will be available for registration on a first-come, first-serve basis like any other unregistered .XXX domain is now.

ICM Registry says they will not provide a list of the names that are being made available.

Professional Canadians with committee experience and/or an interest in technology or the Internet are encouraged to apply.

According to CIRA, “the CIRA Nomination Committee plays a critical role in soliciting and selecting qualified candidates for the Nomination Committee Slate of CIRA’s Board of Directors Election. Its focus is to help build a Board of Directors that represents a wide range of views and interests, and ultimately contributing to the strategic direction of .CA and Canadian Internet policy.”

Applications will be accepted from January 3 to January 20, 2012. Visit http://www.ciraelections.ca for more information.

Call volume was the same as always, so how did this happen?

About a month ago, we asked Claire Lam, our head of professional services department, to take on some additional responsibility to help us understand some of the key challenges within the Technical Support group and implement some changes.

For the past several weeks, Claire and her team have been pretty busy.

As our new head of Reseller Technical Support, Claire is applying what she’s learned working with large hosting providers, combined with her background in customer service, software development and business process to identify to implement changes that will help us deliver on our promise of Reseller Friendly customer service.

Measuring for Service

As a data-driven individual, her first order of business was to implement the right measurements. “We need to know how we’re doing today, so we can figure out how we can do better tomorrow.” Claire told me.

Part of this data collection project involved the introduction of Top 5 issues affecting resellers that Claire shares with the entire company on a weekly basis, and the implementation of a short reseller satisfaction survey sent after the closure of every ticket “Resellers aren’t required to complete the short survey, but those who do will be providing us with actionable data we can use to improve” Claire says.

Trying New Things!

In addition to the more traditional methods of support management, Claire and her team are trying new things.

Last week, with the help of Jonathan Clarke, one of our senior support analysts, worked with Claire to implement LiveChat support service right on key areas of the OpenSRS website. It’s on a trial basis with a goal of serving the needs of resellers who are unable to call us, but are looking for something a little more realtime than email. So far, testing has been positive and it’s a perfect example of the kind of thing we think our reseller customers will appreciate.

What’s next in Support?

There’s a number other things Claire’s been working on, but rather than list them here, I’ve asked her to think about some topics she’d like to share and we’ll share them with you here shortly.

So this won’t be the last you’ve heard from Claire and the support team and we hope that in the coming weeks, you’ll notice and appreciate some of the efforts they’ve been working on.

Have you interacted with our support team lately? How did we do? What could we do better?

What is the role of CIRA’s Board?

CIRA’s Board of Directors has a unique role to play in setting policy and strategy to help CIRA continue to be a leading-edge organization that strives for excellence as a registry and supports Canadians in building their presence in the global digital economy.
Why should this interest me or someone I nominate?

Becoming a CIRA Board Member is a unique opportunity to work with Canada’s Internet leaders as they develop strategy and policy that positions .CA for operational excellence. You will gain valuable insight and experience around technical innovation, Canadian and international Internet policy, and organizational governance.

How do I apply?

.CA Members can nominate themselves or another individual by completing the online Nomination Form from August 2 – 15.

Once nominated, Nominees will receive an email with a link to complete an online Nominee Application Form. The Nominee must complete and submit the form before 8 p.m. ET on August 15, 2011.

To be included on the Final Members’ Slate, Member Nominees must then receive the endorsement of at least 20 CIRA Members during the Show of Support stage.

About CIRA

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

To learn more, visit www.cira.ca.

As with other domain extensions, getting over that first year renewal hump is hugely important in keeping that domain for the long term. Renewal rates on domains more than one year old (in other words, domains that have been renewed once already) are considerably higher than the renewal rate for first year domains.

Boost your Renewal Rates

There are some simple steps you can take to boost your renewal rates for .CO domains as we move into this period of high activity:

1. Make sure your renewal messages are setup: OpenSRS sends out renewal messages to registrants automatically. Double check to make sure that you are sending renewal emails out at 90, 60 and 30 days in addition to the notices that go out closer to expiry. And take the time to customize those templates with contact information so your customer knows where and how to renew their domain. Those templates and settings can be found in the “Renewal Management” section of the Reseller Web Interface.
2. Consider adding renewal reminders to your homepage or interface: A simple banner ad or notice inside your control panel might be all it takes to convince or remind a customer to renew their domain. Don’t overlook any opportunity to remind your customers to renew for another year, or more.
3. Send out a renewal email campaign: We have some great .CO marketing materials you can use to create a quick email reminding customers to renew their names. Point out the increasing value of .CO domains and make sure you build the case for them to hold on to their domain for another year. And don’t forget to encourage customers without a .CO domain to visit your website and search for a .CO domain that might be an even better fit for their business.

.CO Facts and Figures

CO Internet, the .CO registry operator, passed along some interesting stats about the first year of offering .CO domains worldwide.

• .CO sites are being used: .CO domain growth is very similar to the growth seen in active sites under .CO domains. This is a very good trend and shows that registrants are getting .CO domains to use them. A key factor in renewal rates is whether the domain resolves to an active site, so seeing a high rate of usage for .CO domains indicates that renewal rates and customer retention amongst .CO registrants will be good.
• .CO registrants are spread around the world: While about 48% of the .CO domains were registered in the US, countries like the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany are all in the top ten for countries where .CO domains are registered. .CO resonates with domain buyers around the world, in many langauges.
• .CO is one million domains strong: As of last month, there were more than one million .CO domains registered and that number continues to grow. The launch of .CO domains has been one of the most successful domain extension launches in recent memory.

Some of the staff here have put a collection jar in the kitchen at the Tucows office so we can apply for .cow, but we’re just shy of the $185K application fee by about $184,985. We remain confident that our goal will be met and have plans for a fundraiser BBQ that should quickly close that gap.

If you’re interested in donating, or would just like to show us your support, please let us know in the comments.

Thank Moo!

The decision follows years of planning, discussion and deliberation between a multitude of groups, and was met with cheering and a standing ovation. With the approval of the program, hundreds of new domain extensions will be introduced to the Internet. These will range from cities (.NYC is a possibility) to brands (.CANON is planning to apply), and everything in between (extensions like .SPORT, .ECO and .MUSIC will now all be possible).

As a press release ICANN circulated today put it, “New gTLDs will change the way people find information on the Internet and how businesses plan and structure their online presence. Virtually every organization with an online presence could be affected in some way.” It is certainly a significant development.

First new gTLDs expected to be live in 2013

Now that the program has been approved, applications for new extensions are scheduled to be accepted between January and April 2012. Once this application window closes, the full list of applicants will be published, and successful applications will be awarded by November. This will likely pave the way for new extensions to be live in 2013. ICANN intends to get a global communications campaign underway shortly to increase awareness of new TLDs. (As I write this, ICANN is outlining to conference delegates their plan to conduct a comprehensive communication program in five major geographic regions.)

Here at OpenSRS, we’re already looking forward to the opportunities the program will provide our resellers. We’ll be watching program developments closely as it gains momentum, and we will begin to review the extensions we think could be of interest to resellers as applicants come forward (and we’re always interested in hearing from you on the subject, too).

Find out how it will affect you at HostingCon 2011

With the program now underway, we’ll be providing regular updates, so definitely keep an eye on this blog as developments occur. And if you happen to be in the San Diego area in early August, I’ll be holding a session on what new TLDs mean to web hosting companies at HostingCon on August 8.

It was a privilege to be in the room here in Singapore when this historic program was approved. It was a momentous day for domain names, and the atmosphere here since the vote has been positively electric. As the program gets underway, I look forward to the innovation and excitement that the program will bring to the domain name world.

Image courtesy ICANN

It was less than a year ago, on July 20th, 2010, that .CO launched globally and OpenSRS was on board as one of 10 .CO-accredited registrars.

Thanks to our resellers, who saw the opportunity that .CO provided, we’ve played an important role in the .CO success story and are now the number one wholesale .CO registrar.

It was then, and continues to be our firm belief that .CO would be a huge success. Seeing one million domains registered in under a year speaks volumes about how our resellers and the public has reacted to .CO.

Still Growing!

In the past year we’ve seen widespread adoption of .CO right across our reseller channel and the growth in .CO registrations continues. Our resellers, from the largest hosting companies to web designers and other Internet service providers, heard the message about the opportunity that .CO offered and brought the .CO story to their customers.

Tucows’ President and CEO, Elliot Noss notes that one reason behind the success of .CO is that people saw the obvious value in what .CO offered.

“The incredible success of .CO demonstrates without a doubt that there continues to be a need amongst Internet users around the world for highly brandable and intrinsically valuable domain names.”
- Elliot Noss, President and CEO, Tucows

As Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet noted today, getting to one million domains in less than a year is an impressive achievement for .CO that speaks to the strength of the .CO domain, the team they assembled at .CO Internet, as well as to the work of the registrars and reseller partners who made it happen.

“To hit this milestone in less than a year is a great testament to the hard work and dedication of our team. From our retail and business partners; to the trademark and domain communities; to all the people, businesses and brands who are building their futures on .CO – we owe you a million thanks!”
- Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet

The whole team at .CO really showed the industry that there was an alternative to existing domain extensions and that a long-term marketing and awareness plan coupled with excellent technology and a great brand, a new entrant to the domain name space could be wildly successful.

Congratulations to .CO Internet and thanks to all of our resellers for making our first year offering .CO domains one to remember.

More about Selling .CO Domains

If you aren’t already taking advantage of .CO in your business, it’s not too late. Visit our .CO marketing page in our marketing resource centre. You’ll find .CO banner ads, email and web copy, videos and more to get you started.

And for those already offering .CO domains, don’t forget we have a great .CO promotion going on right now – in fact, it was just extended through the end of June! Do some marketing around .CO domains and we’ll knock the wholesale price down to just $15 (from $25). Read the details and sign up here.

The introduction of new gTLDs has been an ongoing conversation for more than a decade; We have an opportunity to approve the final draft in time for consideration of the new gTLD implementation program during the ICANN Board meeting, which will be held on Monday, 20 June 2011, in Singapore.

We submitted our comments yesterday and wanted to share them with you below:

If you know of anyone you think would make a great addition to the CIRA Board, please consider nominating them for the upcoming elections. Applications will be accepted by CIRA from May 12 to June 10, 2011 at https://elections.cira.ca/2011/en/nom_com_nominees.html.

If you want to help spread the word about the CIRA Board of Directors nominations and elections, CIRA provides a PDF information sheet to help explain the process and why the CIRA Board of Directors is an important part of the management and stewardship of the .CA domain extension.