I think you will find that people distinguish .ORG’s from .COM’s quite regularly (although I’m sure there are still lots of mistakes). The reason people recognize .ORG’s is that there are hundreds of thousands of organizations, all with memberships and volunteers and other recognization factors (redcross.org), that continue to promote this extension worldwide to millions of people through their website domain names.

Thus, a .org domain name, if branded and promoted, will retain some recognition factors to make the domain name more valuable than not, if the brand generic phrase is strong. My experience shows that .COM’s and .ORG extensions are the most viewed and remembered extensions in the world.

thanks

For valuation, a good one word .net will work very nicely in SEO prepping for PR. If I wanted to “control” a domain phrase that was generic descriptive, and knowing the “uneducated” business media departments preferring to buy a OOTB .NET domain over paying several thousand or more for the .COM (the preferred way to go), I’d say that purchasing the .com and .net version of a clear “natural” would be wise, and if you couldn’t get the .COM, get the .NET and for sure, get the .ORG (second most recognized TLD in service).

I sold a mid 4 figure domain this weekend, and added the .net version for the buyer, who already had owned the .org. He now has a 11 year old five letter domain leading his group of all the top three TLD’s… including the .net. He owns the brand now.

What’s unusual is someone in a high level position at ICANN not preventing themselves from revealing their *ahem*… thinking strategies.

Well both Fairwinds and the ICANN rep talk about Mo Rocca, and a joke, however as Fairwinds tells Mo made a joke about Beckstrom statement on .net’s value not that the statement of Beckstrom was the joke as the ICANN rep states.

Brad, maybe you should “call-out” Josh Bourne rather than Michael.
Fairwinds is the one misleading his corporate members.

Although that is half the number of .net’s that are registered, you must remember that the .net extension came out 16 years before the .info extension was introduced.

“”The title and first paragraph of the blog are inaccurate. Beckstrom never said that ‘ .NET, is “worthless””"

This is why I put a question mark at the end of the title.

The post title asks a questions, rather than makes a statement and therefore cannot be said to be inaccurate

Mr. Beckstrom’s reported statement came from a post on Fairwind’s blog, as I attributed the statement to and according to the author of the blog who I talked to personally several people in attendance heard Mr. Beckstrom to say the negative comments that Fairwind’s discussed

More importantly, it’s interesting ICANN’s media affairs pounced on this issue, but said not a word about the executive compensation issue, the “Bullshitters Anonymous” trademark application issue, the Ombudsman/Air Canada issue, ICANN censorship issue and so many other issues that have been in the public eye (some of which are linked to in my Twitter feed, but which Mike, Andrew of DNW.com, Ron at DNJournal.com, the guys at DNN.com and elsewhere have covered).

There are also nearly *20* ICANN open public comment periods, many of them ending on the same date (April Fool’s Day, ironically), and instead of staggering them as has been suggested, they’ve been left to overburden the public, or worse, left to end quietly without the public bothering to say anything, and thereby allowing the staff to get their way.

When the IOC sends a letter, ICANN jumps to attention. When domain registrants who own far more domains than the IOC give their input, ICANN ignores them.

A review of a video made at the event reveals that about 5-minutes into a panel discussion the following 35-second exchange took place between Beckstrom, the panel moderator and satirist Mo Rocca.
________________

(Moderator – Kevin Maney, Technology Writer): “ I went looking for a MoRocca-dot-com and there is not one.”

(Panelist – Mo Rocca, Author/Humorist): “It was a South Korean clothier and now it’s nothing, it’s very insulting that no one has hijacked my name. (laughter) But not having a stalker, it’s really demoralizing (laughter). “

(Panelist – Rod Beckstrom, ICANN CEO): (laughter) “We’re rooting for you Mo…. We’re rooting for you…, someday….”

(Rocca – to Beckstrom): “Don’t you control all of that?”

(Beckstrom): “Well yeah, sort of, yeah.”

(Rocca): “Can you get me MoRocca-dot-com? (laughter) I have Mo Rocca-dot-net, but it’s worthless.”

(Beckstrom): Yeah, We could, but it wouldn’t be very popular. (laughter) Oh it is? it’s worthless? Yeah well… we’ll try to help you with some marketing.
_______________

Beckstrom was responding to and asking Mo Rocca’s about his domain, he never made any type of generalized comment about .net TLDs.”

The title and first paragraph of the blog are inaccurate. Beckstrom never said that ‘ .NET, is “worthless”.’

Nor does he believe that to be the case. In fact Beckstrom believes that all .NET domain registrations are worth at least what the registrants pay for them, otherwise they would not renew.

Brad White
Director – Media Affairs
ICANN