As we pointed out last week, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) which operates the .ca registry, is about to introduce some big changes to its existing WHOIS policies. The changes are largely associated with what information WHOIS databases, registrars and resellers are able to disclose about registrants.

These upcoming changes will have a pretty significant impact on some of our .CA policies. Specifically: Our public WHOIS database, like CIRA’s, will protect registrant information by default. All personal information about individual registrants will be kept private, including the name of the Registrant and the name and any contact information.

• Registrants have the ability to disable WHOIS privacy from the CIRA registrant interface if they choose to do so. It is enabled by default.
• Corporations and organizations will have the option to request similar WHOIS protection in special circumstances. It is disabled by default.
• Interested third parties will still be able to contact the registrant by using a contact form available on CIRA’s website (similar to other WHOIS privacy services).
• Resellers will be required to keep registrant information confidential, revealing personal information via telephone or otherwise under very specific circumstances only.

These changes will come into effect on June 10. CIRA will begin messaging registrants about the upcoming changes this week.

After much deliberation and consultation (in other words, in true Canadian fashion), the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has announced that WHOIS Privacy will go into effect on .ca domain names beginning June 10th, 2008.

The CIRA approach to WHOIS privacy is quite interesting and demonstrates a clear desire to protect the privacy of Registrants. There is full information on the new policies at the CIRA website.

In his Law Bytes column in today’s Toronto Star, Michael Geist calls the new policy “a model for domain name registries around the world.”

Geist goes on to suggest that CIRA is now in a global leadership position on the issue of registrant privacy. Geist writes, “With more than a million Canadian domain name registrations, the resolution of the whois issue ensures that the Canadian domain name space is set for continued growth as it now features a “privacy advantage” over other domains struggling to strike a similar compromise.”

What makes the CIRA policy different is that WHOIS privacy is enabled by default for individual domain owners. Registrants have to specifically opt-out with CIRA to have their information displayed. In contrast, the registration information for corporate domain holders is shown by default, however, they can opt-out and hide the information in what CIRA calls special circumstances.

As you would expect, we’ll be fully complying with the new policies. We’ll have more on how things will work from both a Registrar and from the Reseller perspective soon.

Because I am fascinated with the world of domain names, I truly believe I have the coolest job in the world as the General Manager of the Tucows Domain Portfolio.

Now I have the pleasure of adding a new person to my existing team. That’s right, I’m looking to hire someone in the role of Associate Domainer. Maybe that someone is you or someone you know?

Here are some more details about this special role:

Associate Domainer at Tucows

Tucows is currently seeking a unique individual to join our Domain Portfolio team as an Associate Domainer. As a key member of this exciting and rapidly evolving business area, you will report directly to the General Manager, Domain Portfolio. (That would be me.)

Tucows has one of the largest domain name portfolios in the world, and these domain names are currently monetized through domain parking and domain sales.

In this full-time position, located in our office in Toronto’s Liberty Village, you will assist in reviewing and selecting domain names from daily lists for possible acquisition by Tucows. You will also grade and price domain names, manage, restore, renew and transfer names, and optimize the landing pages of parked domains. You will generate daily, weekly and monthly reports on data trends and patterns as well as respond to internal and external email and phone sales and support inquires about domain names in our portfolio. Your ability to work in a fast-paced environment will contribute to the growth of this evolving business area and the ongoing success of Tucows.

The ideal candidate will have kick-ass Internet research skills and excellent verbal and written communication skills. Proficiency in Word, Excel is a must, while database experience (MS Access/SQL) would be a nice bonus. Previous experience in and/or passion for the domain name industry, domaining, or PPC advertising would be very useful.

If you can multi-task, are detail-oriented and have the ability to manage your time effectively under minimal supervision, then this is the job for you.

Head over to the Careers site for more information and to apply.

I have to say that this is an amazing opportunity for someone who wants to break into the booming but still relatively unknown industry of domaining (domain name investing). Here’s a fascinating and seminal article on the topic of domaining that got a lot of people buzzing about domaining and domainers (those folks that practice domaining) when it was first published a year ago. It provides a rare ‘behind-the-scenes’ perspective on this fascinating industry and some of its key players. With any luck it will also inspire a few people to apply for the Associate Domainer position at Tucows.

If you’re interested in an excellent discussion around domain name law, then have a listen to the latest episode of This Week in Law. In a one-hour audio podcast, host Denise Howell and friends take on a variety of domain name-related legal topics from domain name tasting, to website takedowns.

Links to some background information on the topics discussed can be found in the show’s del.icio.us feed.

The panel is quite excellent: Moderator Denise Howell blogs regularly for ZDNet about technology and the law. Marty Schwimmer is a blogger and well-regarded expert in trademark law. Bret Fausett runs the excellent icann.Blog. Cathy Kirkman is a lawyer and blogger practicing in the Bay area. Lastly, Colette Vogele is a lawyer, blogger specializing in intellectual property issues related to technology, new media and the arts.

Download the podcast here. Or subscribe in iTunes.

According to a press release from Verisign, effective October 1, 2008, the registry fee for .com domain names will rise from $6.42 to $6.86 and the registry fee for .net domain names will increase from $3.85 to $4.23.

This should come as no surprise to those who follow what’s been happening in the domain name industry over the last few years. Just this past October, a similar price increase went into effect, raising the registry fee for a .com from $6.00 to $6.42. Other registries followed suit raising prices across the board for generic top-level domains.

Elliot Noss, Tucows CEO and President called it “a dark day in Internet history.” At the same time, he predicted perfectly what would happen in 2008, saying, “Worse, this now signals a near-annual event that will take place in all major gTLDs. It is simply wrong.” You can read the full text here.

If history is any indication, we can expect other registries to announce similar fee increases.

We’re pleased to announce the availability of .ASIA domains, which went live here at Tucows earlier today. With more than one-third of Internet users located in Asia, the .ASIA Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) can help qualified individuals and businesses easily identify themselves in a market that’s growing very quickly.

I use the term “qualified” because the .ASIA gTLD does have a registrant residency requirement: at least one of the registrant contacts must be located in the Asia-Pacific region.

Given the .ASIA universe stretches from Australia to Turkey, (think of it as similar to .EU): a very popular domain extension that helps European individuals and companies identify themselves to a specific regional community. .ASIA has the potential to have the same impact.

Like the other gTLDs offered through Tucows, .ASIA domain names are available through our “cost plus” pricing structure. The registry fee is $10/year, plus the 20 cent ICANN fee, plus the Tucows Management Fee. Names are available in terms of between one and 10 years.

If you haven’t already signed up to sell .ASIA, it’s pretty simple. Download a copy of the current contract, and sign and send in pages 1 and 17.

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a nice article on the importance of choosing a good name to establish a strong corporate identity. The story highlights some interesting aspects when deciding on a company name and identity. It also talks about the importance of making sure that there is a tie between online presence and the corporate name by way of a solid, memorable domain name.

There are a number of case studies presented to illustrate the value of a good company name, and a couple of good examples where a poor choice of domain name led to problems. In one case, nanofluidics.com, the domain name was often confused and misspelled. In another example, Desert Moon Interactive chose the domain dm-i.com, with predictable results.

While the story focuses primarily on how to pick a good identity, it provides is a good list of dos and don’ts for domain name selection.

To summarize:

1. Make sure the domain name associated with your company name is available.
2. Make sure the domain name you select is both memorable and not confusing.
3. Keep in mind that you may have to go with an alternate name in the event that your first choice isn’t available as a domain name.
4. At the same time, don’t rule out a name because the exact URL isn’t available. Many users don’t remember the URL, and instead rely on Google to help them find the site they are looking for.

With domain names continuing to play an important role in establishing corporate identity, services like Premium Names that provide the ability to buy domain names in the secondary market will become even more important.

Our Name Suggestion tool, powered by DomainsBot and included free, gives searchers a valuable tool in establishing a corporate identity by giving domain name suggestions based on keyword searches.

Keep in mind that a domain name is more than just a URL. It’s often the starting point for corporate identity and providing tools and services like Premium Names and Name Suggest can be a great help to people looking to build a brand whether it’s offline or online.

This morning Tucows released some information about our domain portfolio. The highlights are:

• 150,000 domains in the portfolio as of Feburary 14th, 2008
• Over 1,000 “Gems,” or domain names Tucows considers to have the highest potential value in the portfolio
• 39,000 Surnames that form the basis of our Personal Names Service
• 22,000 Brandable Names and 88,000 Direct Navigation Names

You’ll find much more detail in the news release, including a select listing of some of those “Gem” domain names.

The spring T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Conference is getting underway in Las Vegas today. Bill Sweetman, General Manager, Domains Portfolio for Tucows is taking in the show. As he did with DOMAINfest, Bill will be providing news and notes over the course of the four-day event.

The speakers list for T.R.A.F.F.I.C. reads like a who’s who of the domains industry including Kevin Ham, who Business 2.0 called “The Man Who Owns the Internet.”

For those in attendance, a reminder that Bill Sweetman will be part of a panel discussion taking place on Wednesday, February 20th, at 11:00 A.M. From the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. website:

Also of note are the domain auctions taking place throughout the week. Once again, Tucows is participating in the auctions with a total of five names up for auction this week including both the Live Auction on February 20th, and the Online Extended Auction.

Check back throughout the week for updates from T.R.A.F.F.I.C.

Tuesday was “Constituency Day”, when ICANN’s supporting organizations (like the Registrar Constituency and the Registry Constituency) each meet individually to discuss important policy developments and determine Constituency positions on key issues. As a member of the Registrar Constituency, Tucows was represented by myself and Elliot Noss, our President and CEO. We spent the day discussing a wide range of issues with our fellow Registrars, including topics like domain name tasting and domain transfers. The Constituency also met with key members of ICANN to discuss recent developments in areas like budgets and compliance.

Today was what I like to call “meeting day” — now that I’m registered, settled in, and with the all-day Registrar Constituency meeting overwith, it was time to meet with some of our suppliers. These days can get quite busy, as we offer Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) from many different suppliers. This can lead to a lot of meetings! In most of these meetings we discuss the newest developments at Tucows, learn about new products and services at each Registry, and try to get a good feel for where each product, as well as the market in general, is headed. While a litany of meetings may sound boring, they’re actually a great opportunity to gather data which will have an important impact on product and marketing strategies.

There are more meetings in store tomorrow, as well as some interesting ICANN sessions. I’m particularly interested in attending a session on the changing gTLD environment, which will cover important topics like the evolving Registrar-Registry relationship structure, Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), and new gTLDs set to enter the market in the next couple of years.

As a reminder, even if you aren’t in New Delhi for ICANN, you can still take part in the Meeting thanks to online streaming of many of the sessions. Check the full schedule for links to sessions and webcasts.