Global Warming May Get Its Very Own Top Level Domain

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Michael Arrington

TechCrunch.com
Wednesday, March 4, 2009; 8:09 PM

I'm deadpooling this .ECO top level domain right now. Not because it's global warming/eco related, there's plenty of money being thrown around to support just about every crazy green idea out there. I just don't think the world needs another top level domain, and certainly not one that is designed for "individuals to express their support for environmental causes, for companies to promote their environmental initiatives, and for environmental organizations to maintain their websites."

People like .COM domains, or alternatively country level domains. These other ones are little more than traps to force brands to protect their trademarks during expensive pre-sale periods. The company behind the domain gets the most of the money, and ICANN, the quasi-governmental, quasi-mafia organization that oversees this mess gets their cut as well. The more domain names that get registered, the more money ICANN makes, which lets them hire more staff to stick their noses into more things. Meanwhile, they're making a mess of the Internet.

Al Gore is partnering with the company to help secure ICANN approval and then promote the domain. Which goes without saying. Fred Kreuger, previously the founder of Tagworld (now Social Project), is one of the founders.