Let’s hear it for the #XYZsquad! For the second year in a row, the purple people were a major hit with South By Southwest (aka SXSW) attendees. From Graffiti Park to Downtown Austin, the #XYZsquad parkoured across the city during one of the largest conferences that attracts 72,000+ attendees each year from all over the world.
Back-flipping, forward-flipping, photo-taking, and sticker-giving, they covered a lot of ground while explosively (and awesomely) spreading the message that .xyz is for every website, everywhere.
We have tons of footage that we can’t wait to share with you all. While we’re putting our final magical touches on the videos, here’s a sneak-peek at what went down on the streets of Austin:
Were you at SXSW? If you were lucky and caught a glimpse of the #XYZsquad, tell us about it! Tweet us @XYZ, tag us on Instagram, or drop us a line on Facebook. Until next time, #GenXYZ!
Back in November, Team XYZ interviewed CEO Evi Meyer, the founder behind one of our favorite .xyz sites, uMake.xyz. To catch you up to speed, uMake is the future of 3D design software, providing artists, architects, engineers, and entrepreneurs of all skill levels, a tool to intuitively bring their 3D ideas to life.
With .xyz, we’re driven to connect people, ideas, technology, and innovation – regardless of language or geographical location – through the internet. That’s why we were beyond excited to accomplish just that by co-hosting a workshop with uMake, University of Southern California’s Blackstone LaunchPad, and 3D4E (that’s short for the student organization “3D For Everyone”)!
Getting ready for our workshop with uMake and .xyz tonight! #3DModeling #iPad @LaunchPadUSC pic.twitter.com/qooLw0ovc0
— USC 3D4E (@3D4E_USC) February 18, 2015
On February 17, the workshop gathered USC students and faculty to test drive the latest in 3D design software, directly with the uMake founder himself, Evi.
Hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, Evi kicked-off the event by giving us a little background on his hometown. And apparently, Tel Aviv and LA have a lot in common: amazing weather, beaches, and something all of us Angelenos know too well – car traffic!
After a quick and easy run-through, the students dove right in and started designing away. When asked how the workshop went, Evi answered:
Are you ready to sketch in 3D? There’s still a chance for you to test drive the beta version! Get ahead of the curve and sign-up now at:
The holidays are upon us, #GenXYZ! November has been an amazing month for us, starting with the great partnership with Gandi and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (get the deets here), all the way to our first ever hackathon with Product Forge in Scotland (details coming soon).
Ever wonder what Team XYZ is doing behind the world’s most popular new domain extension? We’re excited to share with you the most recent photos and the official premiere of our office Movember videos!
In an effort to give back to our own local community, over the weekend, Team XYZ began a volunteer partnership with the St. Francis Center in downtown Los Angeles. The St. Francis Center is an amazing organization that is responsible for feeding and providing resources to the homeless and elderly, and we couldn’t be more excited to prep, cook, and serve food to our neighbors in need.
Things got busy during service but we managed to snap a few pics here and there:
Our second November wrap-up update is Movember! As many of you know, we’ve been supporting Movember and raising awareness for men’s health via our Mo’s. To top it all off, check out these Mo’tastic videos that we whipped up. As the domain extension for everyone, everywhere, we wanted to celebrate Movember for all with these little snippets:
What did you think of the video? Let us know through the usual Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram – our ears are always open for you, #GenXYZ!
And last but certainly not least, from our XYZ family to yours, we hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey there, #GenXYZ!
Getting ready for #ICANN51 in LA. Tweet us if you’re here! #genxyz #deepv pic.twitter.com/vRlQM9kinp
— XYZ (@xyz) October 13, 2014
For those of you who follow us on Twitter, you already know that we’ve been preparing for ICANN’s huge conference in Los Angeles that began yesterday. THOUSANDS of people are gathering from around the world to take part in ICANN’s conference to discuss major topics that affect the future of the internet. Yes, you heard right – the future of the internet! And of course, the entire Team XYZ will be front and center, all hands on deck, as the conference is taking place on our home turf.
What is ICANN, you ask? ICANN (we pronounce it “eye-can”) is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. In a nutshell, it’s the organization that oversees anything and everything on the domain name system and strives for a stable and unified global internet.
First of all, without ICANN, we wouldn’t have you, #GenXYZ! ICANN rolled out the new domain extension program back in 2011, allowing for CEO and Founder Daniel Negari to bring .xyz to the world.
These conferences cover topics like new domain extensions, all the way to general internet outreach in emerging markets. Best of all, ICANN conferences are open to the public! If you’re interested in these topics (or just want to hang out with Team XYZ), stop by #ICANN51 in Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.
Not in LA? No worries! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and we’ll keep you updated on all the .xyz activity at ICANN. Keep your eyes peeled for some purple fun :)
Happy SXSW, #GenXYZ!
If you caught any of our recent tweets, you already saw glimpses of our bold purple man, officially known as a member of the #XYZsquad.
For all you lucky people at SXSW (or the always envied Austin locals), keep your eyes peeled and cameras on for the elusive #XYZsquad this Sunday. If you catch them in the wild, take a photo and share it with us @XYZ on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #XYZsquad for a chance to win great prizes.
Not at SXSW? Not a problem. Retweet an #XYZsquad photo for your chance to win (and increasing the chance for the original tweeter to win — double winning).
Keeping Austin weird with the #XYZsquad — let’s do this!
You’ve probably heard that the US women’s bobsled duo picked up a well-deserved silver medal in Sochi, but did you know who won the gold at the #XYZolympics? Let’s recap.
After we announced our official sponsorship of the New Zealand bobsled team, we wagered a friendly (yet possibly deadly) #XYZolympics bobsled bet against Name.com. They were represented by their Community Evangelist, Jared Ewy, while the big man himself, Daniel Negari, put his life on the line to compete on behalf of .xyz. Both parties quickly jumped into physical training, wardrobe selection, and some good ol’ fashion social media trash talking.
As promised, the camera crew followed the newly-minted bobsled athletes to Whistler, closely documenting the lead-up to the big race. A pre-race sneakpeak shows the two as they learned all the “worst case scenarios,” tips to avoid your underwear melting to your body (hint: roll, don’t slide), and the exciting reveal of the awesome bobsled with .xyz freshly painted across the nose.
Now for the bet.
As if catapulting down an icy course at 85 mph in a metal vessel wasn’t enough, Daniel and Jared added a little something more to increase the pressure — after all, they’re here to represent their brands.
If Jared wins, Daniel must “enthusiastically, to the point of harassment, talk about Name.com and how great it is,” all while wearing a bobsled helmet.
Upon Daniel’s triumph (naturally, as the domain extension for every website, everywhere), Jared must don the full-body .xyz. That meant, Jared must cover himself head-to-toe in .xyz stickers, for one whole day: the full-body .xyz.
They shook on it.
So who won the race? Check out this epic video as the two zip down the most dangerous bobsledding track in the world. And the best part? Catch all the drama, alleged scandal, and cashing in on the bet, as we conclude this season’s #XYZolympics.
Read up on the full story in our press release.
With our launch just right around the corner, we have more exciting promotions up our sleeves (or should I say, up our purple suits…) As always, our eyes and ears are peeled for you guys, #GenXYZ, so connect with us and stay in the know by following @xyz and our Facebook and Instagram!
Just days removed from the Olympics opening ceremony, the .xyz Team is proud to announce our sponsorship of the New Zealand bobsled team for the 2014-2015 season! As the domain for every website, everywhere, there’s no better way to show our flexibility and bold style than supporting the team as they compete in one of the most extreme sports all over the world.
Our Olympic-savvy readers may be quick to point out that the New Zealand team is not at Sochi this year, and they wouldn’t be wrong. So instead, we’ve created our own #XYZolympics, which will be kicking off in Whistler, BC, where the 2010 Vancouver Games were held. This will be the location for our friendly competition with another team sponsor, Name.com.
That’s right – Name.com has sent Jared Ewy (who we heard had something to do with the Jamaican team’s missing luggages) to race us (or attempt to anyway) in a 1-on-1, no-holds-barred slide to the finish line at the world’s fastest and most dangerous bobsledding track. Daniel will be going 135 kph (84 mph) and recording the whole thing with a smile, while Jared tries to keep up at a pedestrian 8 kph (5 mph) with his eyes closed. Fortunately, it’s already too late to cancel the camera crew who will be documenting the entire experience, so keep your eyes peeled for some awesome – and hopefully embarrassing – videos down the stretch. We’re open to suggestions when it comes to placing bets, so send us your ideas on Twitter by tagging @XYZ and using #XYZolympics.
So when is this all going down? Your favorite domain extension will be heading north to Whistler on Wednesday, and filming promo videos and the epic once-in-a-lifetime race under the Thursday night lights.
We’re extremely excited for the opportunity to sponsor such an awesome team and sport. As we approach our March 20th Sunrise date, we’ll be doing more fun promotions like this to give our fans a better feel for the puppy-loving people behind .xyz. We don’t expect Jared to be too happy when he sees the claims we just made, so follow us at @XYZ and @NameDotCom for his response, a sneak peak at all our one-off bobsledding equipment, and the usual banter that accompanies your typical life-threatening bobsledding race. Join the conversation and place your owns bets using #XYZolympics and #GenXYZ throughout the season!
