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Posted on Jul 2, 2014

Are You a Ninja?

Are You a Ninja?

 

Well, are you a ninja? If you are and you are thinking of setting up a new website you are in luck. The same applies if you are a builder, a florist, a bull rider, or if your name is Kim. This is because of a thing called a TLD and the fact that lots of new ones have either recently been released or will be released soon.

 

TLD stands for top-level domain. It is the last part of a website address – the part after the dot. The most popular is .COM but you will also have heard of .NET, .GOV and .ORG. There are also country-specific TLDs like .CA (Canada), .CO.UK (United Kingdom) and .COM.AU (Australia).

 

There are two main problems with these TLDs. First, all the good ones are gone which means you are unlikely to get your desired .COM unless you:

 

a)      Pay a premium

b)      Use a two, three or four word phrase

c)      Make up your own word

 

And even when you do these things you might find the domain name is still unavailable.

 

The other problem with traditional TLDs is they are a bit boring and not at all descriptive. The new TLDs go solve these problems – meaning you can have a much more interesting domain name using a word or phrase that you want.

 

Here are some of the options.

 

.NINJA

 

If you have ever wanted to call yourself a ninja now you can. This one was probably created for Chuck Norris, the martial artist and actor from the 1980s. If you have seen the viral jokes going around the internet for the last couple of years you will know what this means. For example:

 

·         Chuck Norris doesn't call the wrong number. You answer the wrong phone.

·         Or, Chuck Norris and Superman once fought each other on a bet. The loser had to start wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants.

 

So if you are thinking of building a website using a .NINJA domain here is one word of warning – even though you haven’t built it yet, Chuck Norris has probably already seen it so make sure there is nothing on it that will upset him.

 

.CEO

 

Many of the new TLDs were registered by some of the world’s largest brands. Examples include .NIKE, .BENTLEY and .CALVINKLEIN. You cannot buy branded TLDs like this but you do have other business options available. One of the more egotistical and arrogant is .CEO. It is perfect for those business people who believe they don’t get to say “I’m the CEO” enough times in a day. Everyone’s encountered a boss like that.

 

.FAIL

 

The optimists in the world have always been well-catered for when it comes to TLDs. Pessimists, on the other hand, have not had much choice. In fact some people might call it downright discrimination.

 

The new TLDs have changed all of that. The grumpy and pessimistic can now take full advantage of the internet with the release of .FAIL plus other options including .GRIPE, .BLUE and the fantastic .WTF.

 

All the Vices Covered

 

Unsurprisingly (this is the internet after all) life’s vices are well catered for in the new TLDs:

 

  • Alcohol – TLDs like .PUB, .BAR, .CLUB and .VODKA are available and others like .BEER are believed to be on the way.
  • Shoes – Websites ending in .shoes are great if you’re into fashion, or if you just have a shoe obsession.
  • Gambling – They’re not available yet but .CASINO and .BET could be on the way soon.
  • Online Dating – You have the choice between .SINGLES and .DATING. And for the morning after there is .CLINIC.
  • Politics – The murky world of politics is also catered for. Depending on how you swing there is .REPUBLICAN and .DEMOCRAT.

 

This is a light-hearted look at the new TLDs that are now available (or that will be available soon) but they remain a serious option for many businesses. Before you buy your next domain you should check them out. You may get a name that is more memorable than the traditional, boring .COM domains. Why not spice it up a notch?

 

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