The XYZ Team partnered with Teens Exploring Technology (TXT) earlier this month to bring 300 inner-city youths together in South Los Angeles. Ranging from 12 to 17 years old, these bright students spent their weekend at the 4th annual Hustle N’ Code Hackathon to learn how coding could solve everyday problems in their communities. Among the participants was Los Angeles’ own Mayor, Eric Garcetti, who spoke to the students about the importance of making a positive impact on their communities through science and technology.
The objective of Hustle N’ Code is to help the next generation develop solutions to problems that their communities face everyday. Some of these issues include violence, drugs, difficulties in school, stray animals, and homelessness. The participants broke out into groups, where they discussed what issues they wanted to tackle, and how they could be addressed. Each group got to register a free .xyz domain and website builder, then got to work on learning and coding their new websites.
At the end of the day, the projects developed by these young old aspiring coders were evaluated by a panel of 5 judges, which included our very own Project Manager, Jana! PawAlert, a website to report and help find lost pets, took first place at the event. Another favorite developed that day was CodeBreakers.xyz, an online platform to manage supplies students borrow from classrooms – the site even emails the teacher when an item is checked out! KTwonHackers.xyz also received fanfare for its thoughtful “Walk4Homeless” solution to bring awareness to the plight of the homeless throughout Los Angeles.
Although these and the other websites developed at Hustle N’ Code are still works in progress, they are great starts to meaningful solutions for problems that communities in Los Angeles face today. The XYZ Team is thrilled to see our future leaders innovating on .xyz domains at such an early age, and we can’t wait to see the completed projects. We had a great time at the Hustle N’ Code hackathon, and we really appreciate the work that TXT is doing. We look forward to attending again to continue fostering the next generation of internet users!
Starship.xyz – GoDaddy customer (Estonia & United Kingdom)
Starship.xyz was one of the first websites we wrote about in 2016 shortly after the company’s official launch. We promised that we would keep an eye on their progress, and now – as the last #WebsiteWednesday of the year – we’re recapping the news and success Starship has had in 2016.
Starship, created by the co-founders of Skype, is an autonomous robot delivery service that is changing the future of delivery to be more efficient and cost-effective. Their breakthrough technology has been featured all over the news, including stories in Wired, TechCrunch, Fortune, and Business Insider, to name a few.
If you live in San Francisco, Washington DC, Switzerland, London or one of the other 50+ cities Starship has visited, you may have already seen their robots zipping around. Their robotic fleet now consists of 65 robots – up from 10 when they launched – which have traveled over 15,000 combined miles in 16 countries, according to their site.
To reach these markets, Starship partnered with Mercedes-Benz to build custom robo-vans, or “motherships,” that can transport the robots from city to city. By combining traditional transit with Starship’s robots, 400 packages can be delivered every shift, compared to 180 by doing it the old way. This type of efficiency led to interest by Just Eat, who announced “the world’s first takeaway meal delivered by a robot” in London earlier this month. With a $60 million annual R&D budget, Just Eat told VentureBeat that they’re launching their pilot program all over London with Starship in 2017.
Thanks to the innovation by Starship.xyz, we may be opening presents next year that were delivered by a robot. But Starship wasn’t the only member of #GenXYZ that had a good year – check out the list below to see a complete list of every #WebsiteWednesday we covered in 2016.
Many of our registrar partners are finishing off the year strong by running last-minute .xyz sales for the holidays. This is your last chance to grab that domain that you’ve been wanting all year, so visit any of the registrars below to get your .xyz domains for as low as 50¢!
TheInstitute.xyz – GoDaddy customer (United States)
To get your brand message across, traditional marketing no longer serves companies the way it used to. Consumers have become overwhelmed by noise from constant promotions, advertisements, and other forms of marketing. As a result, brands both big and small must find innovative ways to reach their audiences and engage with them. This week’s #WebsiteWednesday, TheInstitute.xyz, does just that by developing personalized campaigns, helping businesses find the partners they need, and fostering relationships with customers.
The Institute is a branding, marketing and technology consulting agency whose team of experts design national and multinational campaigns for industry-leading clients like Scottrade and DC Comics. Whether they’re originating content to promote the return of Showtime’s Ray Donovan, or reimagining fundraising efforts for Ivy Leagues like Cornell University, The Institute personalizes each marketing initiative to effectively connect with target audiences in innovative new ways.
This creative new take to marketing can be attributed to The Institute’s Managing Partner, Damien Navarro, who is a past recipient of several prestigious honors, including an American Advertising Award (Addy). He’s already imprinted this winning philosophy at The Institute. Earlier this year they were nominated for the ThinkLA IDEA Award’s Boutique Agency of the Year and 2016 Campaign of the Year.
Here’s what Damien had to say about his wildly successful agency and their .xyz domain:
“The Institute was the next iteration of the more traditional digital marketing/advertising agency I had run prior. It was time for a different business model, one that allowed for more flexibility, more creative freedom, and a chance to work more alongside our clients instead of for them…
Being creative, agile, and thinking out of the box is what The Institute team does best and the .xyz domain name falls right in line with the unique and creative lens we view our work and the world through.” – Damien Navarro
The Institute harnesses the power of their .xyz domain to showcase the innovative ways they’ve helped major brands promote their products. Not only is .xyz the creative ending to match their work, but they were able to get the perfect name before the dot: their business. The Institute is one of the many .xyz adopters leading their industry into the future, and we can’t wait to see what kind of cutting-edge campaigns they generate next.
With the holidays just around the corner, we’re spreading joy to #GenXYZ by looking back on some of our favorite .xyz users from this past year! To celebrate the 8 days of Hanukkah (starting December 24th) and the 12 days of Christmas (starting December 25th), we’ll be counting down our favorite #WebsiteWednesdays from 2016 each day to highlight on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to follow us on both to get inspired!
Still searching for the perfect last minute stocking stuffers? Fear not, many of our retail partners just announced their .xyz Winter Holiday Sales! For a limited time, you can purchase .xyz domains for as low as $0.50 at participating registrars!
Elio.xyz – DreamHost customer (Brazil)
Last month, we wrote about Engine.xyz, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) startup accelerator that’s budgeted $175 million to fund new technologies that are making positive impacts on a global scale. Another innovative program the university offers is its Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. And in this week’s #WebsiteWednesday, we’re highlighting the startup that won an award at the program’s pitch competition for creating an agricultural aerospace technology system: Elio.xyz.
Elio.xyz is the website for Brazilian tech startup Elio Tecnologia, which utilises planes, drones, and satellite technology to give farmers intuitive data on their crop fields. Elio’s state-of-the-art system captures photos of an entire field of crops, then renders it as a digital map. Farmers can then check crop health, see potential hazards, and even maintain individual rows of crops right from their tablet. The cutting-edge technology in Elio’s crop management system also analyzes this data in real time to create recommendations for farmers. This helps them generate the highest crop yield, while minimizing the use of resources, to maximize overall profit.
The innovation Elio has brought to the agriculture industry is being recognized not just by MIT, but on a global scale. Challenge Advisory, a global firm that advises governments to promote business development, invited Elio to join their Sustainable Intensification event in Rio de Janeiro in May. Elio presented its mapping technology that is revolutionizing ‘Agri-business’ in Brazil to industry leaders like Monsanto and IBM’s Weather Underground.
Here’s what Luciano da Silveira Araujo, CEO of Elio, had to say about his startup and .xyz domain:
“We are very focused on making state of the art info-imaging for agriculture, and we are passionate about the details and efficiency. We provide data that really matters to the farmers – data that helps the whole agriculture industry be more sustainable.
I chose a .xyz domain because I think .xyz represents a fresh air on the web. I was looking for something new and .xyz has a great relation to our work.”
– Luciano da Silveira Araujo, Creator and CEO of Elio.xyz
Elio is a true innovator shaping the future of agriculture, and we’re proud that they share our goal of giving #GenXYZ the best future possible – whether it’s through the food that fuels them or the domain that bring their ideas to life.
KarenJWang.xyz – Network Solutions customer (United States)
One of the most valuable pieces of online real estate you can secure is your name. In this week’s #WebsiteWednesday we take a look at another member of #GenXYZ who showcases all of her talents and professional experience on her .xyz site: KarenJWang.xyz
Visting KarenJWang.xyz introduces you to Karen: a UX designer and artist – as we learned from exploring her site – a yogi, a music festival blogger, and a self-proclaimed renaissance soul. Karen takes full advantage of the freedom her .xyz gives her to make a unique personal and professional hybrid website. We reached out to Karen to find out more about her .xyz domain and how it allows her to explore these interests and share her experiences with the world:
You work on many different kinds of projects, which you showcase on your .xyz site. Where did you find your inspiration?
Creating a website that showcases my eclectic interests has always been a priority of mine. My inclination for visual art stemmed from a background in painting, sketching, and collaging in my adolescent and young adult years, and has recently extended into digital works.
What inspired you to pursue UX Design as a career, and do you have any advice for the #GenXYZ members that are aspiring marketers and UX designers?
It’s actually quite comical—ever since my first drawing class, I have always wanted to be an artist. So, while attending business school as a Marketing and Communications major was not ideal, I never ceased to incorporate my passion into my professional and personal endeavors. My advice for the #GenXYZ members is to always take risks, to stay humble, to feed your curiosity, and to do the things that feel like life itself. Ask questions, meet other professionals, but be unapologetically yourself. Even if the path isn’t clearly paved in front of you, follow your passion and the rest will surely manifest as you go.
As a UX designer, why do you think it’s important to have a website? How do you think your .xyz domain helps you reach your audience?
A personal website is like a gallery that’s always open. Unlike exhibits that are erected and razed in the blink of an eye, your website is your opportunity to extend the life of your efforts and vision. Besides, we all know the struggle of antiquated resumes and cover letters that fail to capture the essence of your abilities and personality. A website is your elevator pitch, resume, and personal collection of projects all wrapped up in one. Additionally, if you’re looking to get hired for web or mobile application design, what better way to showcase your style than an online portfolio?
What made you decide to build your site on a .xyz domain?
The .xyz domain fascinated me. We’re constantly surrounded by .com’s, .net’s, and .org’s, so I felt compelled to switch it up by taking the road less traveled. It’s also pretty neat to be considered a member of #GenXYZ.
Do you have anything else you’d like to share with #GenXYZ?
Besides being an aspiring UX designer, my free time consists of cooking vegan meals, teaching vinyasa yoga, dancing, blogging for music festivals, and lots of time for being silly. Just a reminder that it’s okay to be a renaissance soul: your career does not have to be your life, and you can pursue several interests at the same time. Good luck!
Karen is just one example of how #GenXYZ is sharing their unique personalities and ideas with the world. She was able to secure ‘HerName.xyz’ and create a gallery displaying her accomplishments and interests.
If KarenJWang.xyz inspired you to showcase your work, connect with others, or simply claim your own piece of internet real estate, click here to get ‘YourName.xyz’ now. And with the holidays just around the corner, .xyz domains make for great stocking stuffers for your friends and family too!
