DigitalBrandNews

The number of expected new gTLDs is still speculative and will likely remain just that until the application period ends.  However there is a website of proposed new gTLDs that have been identified by Internet addresses and extensions. The site lists 106 proposed new gTLDs containing a mix of categories: community, ethnic, geographical (geo; country, region, city), IDN and specialized.  Not all known IDNs proposed are on the list, and .deloitte is missing from the brand category. The specialized category contains proposed gTLDs such as .car, .mls, .money, .music, .sport, .web as well as 26 others. 

A check of the supporting websites indicates a number of proposed gTLDs have backing and potentially viable business cases, while others appear to be seeking support and investment. There are likely as many if not more new gTLDs being considered that haven’t been announced, so while the exact number isn’t known it is apparent there is growing interest in the new gTLD concept.

The complete list can be viewed at www.newtlds.tv/newtlds

Landrush for .co  has started and will extend from June 21 through July 13. All trademark restrictions have been removed, allowing anyone to apply for available .co names. Duplicate applications will be decided by auction.

Single character .co domain names have been getting significant attention.  Twitter acquired t.co and will be developing this as their proprietary domain name shortener.  Ten bidders initially participated in the auction for e.co which was ultimately sold for $81,000. 
 
There are still opportunities to apply for prime keyword domain names to create memorable URLs for   micro-sites and advertising opportunity.