International URLs

On November 16th, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will begin accepting applications for internationalized domain names. This marks one of the biggest changes to the internet as we know it and comes with great opportunities as well as potential new threats.

For opportunities, just think about the doorway being opened by allowing domain names to be registered in it’s native language. The current requirement that domain names be registered using Latin characters poses a gap in reaching those individuals that only know their native language. Opportunities for registering and reaching out to entire communities who only know their native language is tremendous and can now be done. Ever wish you had registered key domain names to sell your product and or service to a highly specific Hasidic, Asian or Islamic community? Now is your chance. Just keep in mind that a vast majority of existing internetians (i.e those who peruse the internet) operating systems will not support these characters, however, that may just prove to be an advantage for those with an entrepreneurial spirit.

For threats, one only has to look in their spam folder to know that phishing scams will likely increase by a significant magnitude. Say you have a bank account with a large, Asian bank – it’s a fair bet that someone would look to get similar domains of that bank in its native script to use for nefarious deeds and it would become increasingly difficult for the average non-native person to identify that it is a scam.

So, while we may be near running out of web addresses (although this will be fixed before it becomes a real problem), be sure to examine if your business model warrants a discussion on registering and targeting a niche market and doing so in its native tongue.

Makes you wonder, what would the domain name of the man formerly known as Prince look like with this newfound freedom of expression?