We sure had “a whale of a time” at ICANN’s 54th conference in Dublin, Ireland. It feels like just yesterday that we launched .xyz to the world, when in reality there have already been seven ICANN conferences since then!
ICANN, the organization that oversees the entire internet naming system, hosts these global public meetings to discuss how to make the internet a better place. This is also a great opportunity for us to catch up with all of our partners throughout the world.
Dublin was a nice break from the Southern California heat wave, where we had the opportunity to meet in-person with more than 50 of our partners at the Dublin Convention Centre.
One of the many highlights was the welcome gala at Dublin’s famous Dame Lane. Themed “That Night in Dublin,” we ate and drank the Irish way with other conference attendees.
We also visited Google’s Ireland office, which is punnily located on Google Docks.
If you find yourself in Dublin, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is a must-try. We wined and dined with our trusty registrar partners, Namecheap.
And to cap off a successful week, we celebrated Raedene’s birthday, who’s an integral part of the team that supports all of the .xyz backend magic over at CentralNic.
With ICANN Dublin in the books, we’re excited to finish off the year with a bang. Not only are we releasing .xyz and .College premiums, we’re also launching our newest additions to the XYZ family: .Cars, .Car, .Auto, .Security, .Protection, and .Theatre.
Want more details on our newest domain offerings? Stay up-to-date with all of the news by signing up for our newsletter and following us at @xyz!
At XYZ, we continue to be committed to the Chinese market and are making significant strides towards becoming one of the few officially recognized domain extensions in China! From major tech giants, startups, all the way to individual internet users, .xyz domains are being adopted and will only continue to spread across the world.
Since our launch over a year ago, .xyz has maintained its position as the most popular new global domain, with 32% of all .xyz registrations coming from China. It’s amazing to see the support from the Chinese market through domains like 8.xyz, which was recently auctioned off in Macau for ¥521,000 RMB (appx $81,000 USD).
As we get closer and closer to becoming China-official, we want to make sure that you’re registering your names, business ideas, keywords, hobbies, or future projects in .xyz at your favorite Chinese domain retailer. This way, you and your websites are ready to go live in China when the time comes – and we can’t wait to see them featured alongside our current favorites on gen.xyz/live.
P.S. If you’re already an owner of .xyz domains, please be sure to renew and use them. We wouldn’t want you to release the great domains names you’ve already secured. Thank you for your support.
We are happy to announce the long awaited release of premium domains for both .xyz and .College! Did you ever try to register travel.xyz or NewYorkCity.College, but couldn’t? These premium domains will finally be released for public registration later this year.
Premium domains typically have popular search and industry-specific keywords, like music.xyz or business.College. Due to its value and scarcity, they’re considered “premium” domains and are available to register at a price relative to its value.
Letters and numbers are also popular premium domains. Since there are only 10 numerical characters and 26 letters of the alphabet, some of the most sought after domains are single-letter and single-number domains. Do you remember when 8.xyz was auctioned off? That closed at a whopping $81,000!
We will be releasing them to the public on the dates below – don’t forget to mark your calendars!
Visit your domain registrar of choice to ask how you can register .xyz and .College premium domains. Which domains are you most excited about? Dare to share by tweeting @xyz or @College!
Team XYZ Note: this post has been updated on December 1 for accuracy
With so many awesome live sites going up everyday, we wanted to celebrate the growing #GenXYZ community by revamping our community showcase page, gen.xyz/live! This page is a compilation of our favorite .xyz sites from around the world. Can you find your favorites here?
Believe us, picking our favorites was not easy. Since our last update, the #GenXYZ community has boomed with thousands of diverse sites to choose from! In this update, you’ll find all types of sites for startups and businesses, online communities, portfolios, and more.
In case you’re just tuning in, #GenXYZ is the global community of innovative .xyz users. Since launching last year, we’ve seen #GenXYZ build incredible sites, show off their personal .xyz email addresses, and even incorporate their domains into their social media handles.
It motivates us every day seeing all the unique ways internet users are growing their online presence. This hub is our way to highlight the awesome .xyz sites that have inspired us to continue to operate the domain for every website, everywhere. So if you haven’t yet, check out gen.xyz/live to look through some of our favorite websites.
To have your favorite .xyz website featured, email us at hello [at] gen.xyz or tweet us at @xyz!
This year has been chock-full of conferences – and we love it! Conferences are a great place to meet industry leaders and learn about the newest developments and insights. Just recently, we were in good ol’ Brew City Milwaukee to rep .College at the annual HighEdWeb conference.
HighEdWeb brings together all types of higher education professionals to explore unique web issues that colleges and universities face. Topics ranged from technology in education all the way to using Snapchat as a marketing tool!
Digital strategy was a hot topic at HighEdWeb. Since a university’s website is typically the first point of contact for prospective students and parents, it wasn’t surprising to learn that 78% of seniors said websites make a difference in how they view a university!
To capture the attention of these students in this digital age, HighEdWeb sessions focused on website redesign strategies, like having a cohesive message across all schools, utilizing video content, and analyzing web traffic. Revamping a school’s website and digital presence is a great way to engage with students, alumni, and the communities around them. Has your school gone through a rebranding recently?
We’re off on a Eurotrip to meet our business partners at the ICANN Conference in Dublin, and will be zipping back to the states for one of the biggest ed tech conferences in the nation. We have some special goodies for this one, so make sure to check back to find out what they are!
Want to stay up-to-date on .College domains and higher ed news? Follow @College on Twitter.
