Dot Whatever

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted today to expand top-level domains – those letters that follow the “dot” – to virtually anything and in virtually any language. Of course, like so many things these days, it will cost money ($185,000). A minor thing, perhaps, but this brings new meaning to “the good old days.”

I once thought “old” meant that you could remember when there wasn’t color TV, or when there were only four outcomes when you called someone: no one answered, the line was busy, you got the person you were calling or you left a message. Now, I suppose, you’re old if you think .org means a nonprofit, or the options most familiar are .com, .edu, .gov, .net or .org. Then came the others - .biz and the like. Of course, for years there have been almost 300 country codes, but those have never been available unless you had the authority to use them.

Soon we will have to remember (if our browser doesn’t) a plethora of brands and names and languages. Pretty exciting stuff if you take the long view. It means that the Internet has become not just global (it has been since the beginning), but a reflection of its ubiquity. Everyone everywhere can be his or her own dot whatever. It makes me think of the Postal Service and about 200 plus years of development being brought low in 18 years.

When Benjamin Franklin was named the first Postmaster General of the United States in 1775, most houses had names, not addresses. Then cities and towns got a little more organized and in 1863, free city delivery began. By that time, most places had numbered addresses on codified streets. Then, of course (and we all remember this, right?) in 1983 we got zip codes – and we grumbled. Who could remember another bunch of digits?

Now the Postal Service is fighting for its existence, we routinely remember long strings of numbers (foreign telephone call – with area code – anyone?) and the information needed just to function in a communication-intensive environment changes frequently. There are many reasons why this makes sense – but I delight in the change because of the underlying reason. Billions of us have access to and use the Internet and with more than 350,000,000 websites you’re reading this because you do. It would be a real pain to mail you this message. Jon Goodman, President

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