Spotlight on the .wiki TLD
Most of our readers are familiar with the popular website wikipedia.org, a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia’s 30 million articles in 287 languages, with over 4.3 million articles in the English, are written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. It is the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet and is the foremost example of what is a “wiki” (collaborative website) and how to use one.
A wiki is a powerful collaborative website used publicly on the Internet or privately on a local intranet. Many large corporations like Microsoft and the like are leveraging wikis for knowledge sharing with their employees and also their customers. For example, Microsoft launched TechNet Wiki, a library of information about Microsoft technologies, written by the community for the community. HEXONET itself also has a public wiki, which is one of the main sources of information and support for our resellers as it provides quick access to information regarding the TLDs that we offer, as well as, important technical documentation.
The power and utility of wikis are already undeniable but with the exciting new .wiki TLD soon to be available, the potential for sharing and collaborating is even greater. According to Top Level Design LLC, sponsor of the new .wiki TLD, “.wiki is an open TLD for anyone interested in community resource creation — for a city, a fan club, a hobby, academic study, or even corporate projects. .wiki is part of a massive TLD expansion to make the Internet more representative of the many communities and passions that it enables. Soon, you will be able to register the perfect domain name for your wiki-centric site.”
The target user groups for the new .wiki TLD:
- Enterprises: Internal wikis allowing organizations to maximize the diversity of expertise found throughout their staff, and provide a space where all knowledge is equal and brainstorming thrives. Organizations with public-facing wikis are able to educate and learn from their consumers in a highly-interactive environment.
- Communities: Enthusiasts of all varieties to use wikis to share their insider tips and knowledge to help educate their communities and the world-at-large. Hobbyists, fan clubs, and academics are drawn to creating and contributing to wiki sites.
- Developers: Technical professionals and open-source pioneers can easily work with their peers around the world.
- Individuals: Anyone that has a public wiki profile, like those found on Wikipedia, will have more control over their public profiles with a TheirName.wiki site.
Top Level Design LLC is anticipating the sunrise phase of .wiki to begin in February 2014, followed by Landrush in April and General Availability in May. HEXONET is very excited to be able to offer this unique TLD to our resellers today as EOIs (Expression of Interest). Please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager should you have any questions or require additional details.