Europe's New Voice
As tech savvy readers will be aware, dot EU is the latest domain to go into public use. What is a domain? A domain is the name used for internet site like “dueyfinster.eu”. It has already sold over 1.25 million names already, this entering the third day of the public sale. Their have been bitter critics of how it has dealt out, with heated arguments over some domains such as Polo.eu, which was claimed by no less than 3 entities: Volkswagen, Ralph Lauren and Nestle. Volkswagen won out eventually, all because they got their application in first.
Why is it important? Well I think it is, not only because I own one, but because it creates a Europe wide identity, suitable for individuals and companies. I think personally, it wasn’t handled the best way possible, with all major companies not having control of their domains by Landrush period (Landrush is the public sale). It will be months for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Belgium to sift through all documents companies have submitted. Surpisingly, United Kingdom has registered the most domain names and is one of the most Eurosceptic countries, while France have only slightly registered more than other smaller countries such as Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Their is also speculation that Swiss and Norweigan companies may miss out, as they are not part of the European Union (EU). Maybe this explains why Nestle weren’t so lucky registering Polo.eu? I don’t know, but I hope this domain brings new meaning to European citizenship, and makes us all proud to be part of the largest trading block in the world.