.wiki
IntroducedMay 26, 2014 (general public)
TLD typeGeneric top-level domain (gTLD)
StatusActive
RegistryGoDaddy
Intended useWikis
Registration restrictionsNone
DocumentsICANN registry agreement
Registry websitedomains.registry.godaddy/wiki/

.wiki is a top-level domain name. Its purpose is to denote websites that are wikis. It was proposed in ICANN's New generic top-level domain (gTLD) Program, and became available to the general public on May 26, 2014. Top Level Design is the domain name registry for the string.

History

"w.wiki" redirects here. For Wikimedia projects' URL shortener, see Wikipedia:URLShortener.

In June 2012, Top Level Design submitted an application to ICANN for the .wiki gTLD.[1] On November 7, 2013, ICANN and Top Level Design entered into a "Registry Agreement", officially allowing the company to operate as the registry for .wiki.[2] Following the acquisition, Ray King, CEO of Top Level Design, stated many people "from within [the domain] industry tell me that .wiki is their dark horse for a successful [g]TLD," because ".wiki" describes the site format. "So, when I go to craftbeer.wiki, I can expect a vibrant site with passionate folks discussing all things relevant to brewing beer. This is not the case with craftbeer.com or craftbeer.guru, where you could be accessing a storefront, a blog, a brewery tourguide or any number of things."[3]

In January 2014, ClickZ named .wiki one of the "Top 10 gTLDs to Watch in 2014" for having the "potential to provide great secure, shared workspaces for companies large and small".[4] The application was delegated to the DNS root zone on February 19, 2014.[5] By mid-March, Top Level Design had signed agreements with more than 120 domain name registrars to retail .wiki names.[6] It was announced in May that the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization mostly known for hosting Wikipedia, would use "w.wiki" as a URL shortener.[7] The Foundation also endorsed Top Level Design's proposal to ICANN's Registry Services Evaluation Process to unblock 179 two-letter strings representing language codes (all two-character strings are blocked under ICANN's standard Registry Agreement).[8][9][10]

.wiki domain registrations were available to only trademark holders until May 5; they became available to the general public on May 26, 2014.[11][12] According to Domain Name Wire, more than 3,000 .wiki domains were registered on the first day of general availability.[10]

As part of the gTLD's launch, Top Level Design and YouGov released a report which concluded that nearly half of consumers in the United Kingdom and the United States have "little to no opportunity" to collaborate with their favorite brands online, and prefer brands that make online collaboration available to them.[12] An additional fifteen percent of U.K. consumers wished they could collaborate with their favorite brands on future products.[13] Finally, the report said nearly a quarter of U.K. and U.S. consumers want companies to solicit their ideas for future products and would contribute to a branded wiki "if they could make a difference to an organisation, brand, service or community they feel passionately about".[12][14] King acknowledged his interest in promoting collaboration between companies and consumers, given the collaborative nature of wikis and Top Level Design's acquisition of the .wiki gTLD.[14] He said of the study's findings:

Consumers and businesses alike have long recognised the power and potential that the internet has to improve the products and services businesses offer, creating a better two-way dialogue between customers and their favourite brands... In reality, this research shows that most consumers feel that the opportunity to collaborate with most companies they love still doesn't yet exist.[12][13]

In July 2015, .wiki was included in a list of the "Top 20 Best New gTLDs Based on Quality", based on data gathered from more than 20,000 developed websites on new gTLD domains, as part of Globe Runner's New gTLD SEO Power Rankings Index.[15]

Purpose

In its 2012 application, Top Level Design stated that the purpose of the .wiki top-level domain would be "to create a designated Internet space for wikis. This [gTLD] will clearly identify wikis from among the millions of other websites populating the Internet, and allow Internet users to easily find wikis relevant to their interests. Wiki websites are a growing phenomenon on the Internet and an innovative, easy-to-use peer-production method of creating and presenting information. They are generally open and editable and often community-driven; furthermore, individual wikis and the wiki platform are in constant flux in much the same way that the Internet as a whole is in flux. Wikis, like the broader Internet, are repositories of information that depend on each individual user to create value; they are meeting points and revolutionary ways to share ideas and knowledge; and they are both set to be expanded through the implementation of ICANN's New gTLD Program, and a .wiki [gTLD] specifically. We believe a .wiki [gTLD] is an intuitive and necessary addition to the collection of new gTLDs to be added as a result of the New gTLD Program."[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "New Generic Top-Level Domains: Application ID: 1-1086-78534". ICANN. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  2. ^ ".wiki Registry Agreement". ICANN. November 7, 2013. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  3. ^ Levine, Barry (July 10, 2014). "Google Enters Domain Market". CMSWire. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  4. ^ Wolfe, Jennifer (7 January 2014). "Top 10 gTLDs to Watch in 2014". ClickZ. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  5. ^ "Delegated Strings". ICANN. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  6. ^ Berkens, Michael (March 11, 2014). "Apple, Weather Channel, Ericsson, Hallmark, Chanel: Brands Are Getting Their .Wiki". The Domains. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  7. ^ Murphy, Kevin (May 5, 2014). "Wikipedia to get single-letter .wiki domain". DomainIncite. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  8. ^ "ICANN Registry Request Service: 2 Character Domains for .wiki" (PDF). ICANN. 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  9. ^ Allemann, Andrew (April 29, 2014). "3 new domain registries ask ICANN for two character domain names". Domain Name Wire. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Allemann, Andrew (May 28, 2014). "Let's collaborate on .wiki: A look at who registered .wiki domains". Domain Name Wire. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  11. ^ Merriam, Andrew (May 3, 2014). "Guest Post: An Insider's Guide to .Wiki Landrush". The Domains. Retrieved October 3, 2014. Note: Posted by Michael Berkens.
  12. ^ a b c d Haggerty, Angela (May 7, 2014). "Half of UK and US consumers feel they have 'little to no opportunity' to collaborate with brands online, YouGov study shows". The Drum. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  13. ^ a b Jenkins, Huw (May 9, 2014). "Half of British consumers feel they can't interact with favourite brands online". dotRising. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  14. ^ a b Mehta, Stephanie N. (May 13, 2014). "A report say Wal-Mart isn't very "collaborative." Is that so bad?". Fortune. Time Inc. ISSN 0015-8259. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  15. ^ Berkins, Michael (July 16, 2015). "Bill Hartzer Releases "Top 20 Best New gTLDs Based on Quality"". The Domains. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  16. ^ "New Generic Top-Level Domains: Application ID: 1-1086-78534". ICANN. Retrieved October 21, 2014. Note: User must click on "download public portion of application" under "String: WIKI".

External links

Notable generic top-level domains
Wikis
Categories