So what do we mean by identity and control ?

Yes the standard things like domains, your rights to them (or not) fall under identity but as general terms get eaten up as domain names and companies find it harder to register a suitable domain name that will identify them, we’ll also be looking away the standard terms as domain names.

We’ll also be outlining the dangers of allowing yourself to be shepherded by a design company and corralled into their grasp with them having control and you finding it difficult to change suppliers should you feel the need. We feel it’s important for content owners to be in control both over content and supply of that content to the Internet. The very last thing site owners need is to be stuck with a site either up and out of date or slow or a site down and no way to swiftly deal with the problem.

No one knows you business better then you and your staff and so thinking up a good domain name or two should be in your hands, don’t be tempted to leave this to a design company solely. Although giving a list of words and phases is acceptable, the final decision should be left to you the site owner. Don’t be tempted to use less popular domain extensions either and never be convinced to use domain extensions that you are not entitled to use. Here are a few of the extensions available along with their intended use;

• .com represents the word “commercial,” and is the most widely used extension in the world. Most businesses prefer a .com domain name because it is a highly recognized symbol for having a business presence on the Internet.
• .net represents the word “network,” and is most commonly used by Internet service providers, Web-hosting companies or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet. Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a .net extension for their intranet Websites.
• .org represents the word “organization,” and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade associations.
• .biz is used for small business Web sites, .com is preferred because people expect that.
• .info is for credible resource Web sites and signifies a “resource” web site. It’s the most popular extension beyond .com, .net and .org.
• .mobi (short for “mobile”) is reserved for Web sites built for easy viewing on mobile devices.
• .us is for American Web sites and is the newest extension. It has the largest amount of available names in inventory.
• .cc was originally the country code for Coco’s Keeling Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .bz was originally designated as the country code for Belize, but is now commonly used by small business who can’t get the name they want using the .biz extension. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .tv is for rich content/multi-media Web sites, commonly used within the entertainment or media industry.
• .vg is the country code for the British Virgin Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .ws was originally designated as the country code for Western Samoa, but is now commonly used as an acronym for “Web sites.” It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .name is the only domain extension specifically designed for personal use. It is commonly used for easy to remember e-mail addresses and personal web sites that display photos or personal information about an individual.
• .co.ukis the country codefor United Kingdom. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country. If you company trade only in the uk you should always try to use this as people looking for uk companies often see it as a comfort sign.
  
• .org.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an organization. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .me.uk is the country code for United Kingdom. The .me portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an individual. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .de is the country code for Germany. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country. If you are not a resident and citizen of Germany, the Administrative Contact for this domain name registration will automatically be assigned Network Solutions’ German proxy contact information.
• .euis the country code for the European Union. Registration of .eu domain names requires registrants to meet one of the three eligibility requirements: have a registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the European Community; have an organization established within the European Community without prejudice to the application of national law; or be a natural person resident within the European Community. Alternatively, you can secure the use of a .eu domain name by using Network Solutions .EU Registration Service. Network Solutions Europe, LLC is the registrar for all .eu domain names. Click here for more information.
• .be is the country code for Belgium. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .cnis the country code for China. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .com.cnis the country code for China. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .net.cnis the country code for China. The .net portion of the extension represents the word “network”, and is generally used by internet infrastructure providers. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .org.cnis the country code for China. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain is for an organization. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .cn Regional names.There are 34 regional .cn extensions available, for example, .bj.cn. The .bj portion of the extension represents Beijing and the .cn represents China. These extensions may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .twis the country code for Taiwan. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .com.twis the country code for Taiwan. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .org.twis the country code for Taiwan. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain is for an organization. It may be registered by businesses, organizations and sole proprietorships from any country.
• .at is the country code for Austria. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .com.mx is the country code for Mexico. The .com portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .co.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .net.nzis the country code for New Zealand. The .net portion of the extension represents the word “network”, and is generally used by internet infrastructure providers. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .org.nz is the country code for New Zealand. The .org portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for an organization. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .gs is the country code for the South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .tcis the country code for the Turks & Caicos Islands. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .ms is the country code for Montserrat. It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.
• .fm is the country code for Federated States of Micronesia, but is commonly used for FM radio.
• .am is the country code for Armenia, but commonly used for AM radio.
• .la is the country extension for Laos, but also used for Los Angeles, Louisiana or Latin America.
• .us.com is an alternate domain for the United States
• .uk.com is an alternate domain for the United Kingdom
• .eu.com is an alternate domain for the European Union
• .de.com is an alternate domain for Germany

Your aims might fall into more then one of those domain extensions criteria so if you can afford it, and you feel it important to you, then register all types that might apply. But don’t be fooled into having to do that by a 3rd party, in the end your site will stand or fall by it’s content and your ability to drive people to see it. In time someone might set up a similar site with a similar name if you are successful and if you are then you will then have the power to deal with those people. For most people it’s a problem they won’t have but the are time when registering versions of names is important but we say don’t risk that success by funding issues you don’t have to right now, often the money is better spent elsewhere.

As this is just an introduction to the category we’ll not cover everything but hope we gave you enough to come back for further detail later. In the next section we will discuss control, perhaps the most important aspect of your plan if you want a smooth ride to that successful web presence.

Working on it – maybe