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Momentous’ .sucks bid “about creating dialogue”
Kevin Murphy,
May 31, 2012, 17:07:03 (UTC),
Domain Registries
The CEO of Momentous’ .sucks new gTLD applicant reckons smart brands will embrace the cheeky concept.
I chatted to John Berard, CEO of Momentous subsidiary Vox Populi Registry, this afternoon for a piece in The Register, and he reckons .sucks isn’t the money-grubbing scam many people will say it is.
“If some people think this is just a way to get registration money out of corporations, then those people are either unaware or are being short-sighted about their marketing effectiveness,” he said.
Berard believes smart companies nowadays are embracing social media interactions as a way to improve their marketing, and that .sucks will be a way to facilitate that.
That said, the policies governing .sucks are still not clear.
Momentous is also applying for .design, .rip and .style.
Kevin,
Thanks for putting DotSucks at the top of your list of newsworthy new gTLD applications.
I will grant you it may seem “cheeky,” but the rise of social media, the history of criticism occupying some dangerous Internet backwater and the importance of engagement make it all pretty sensible.
Specific provenance, light of day, dialog may just increase customer loyalty and improve corporate responsiveness. Win-win, eh?
As for the governing policies, we will be assiduous in protecting brands, vigilant in adherence to our terms and conditions and diligent in a take-down process that supports both.
Cheers,
John Berard
John, perhaps I’m a bit confused. Is your goal to sell domains like Dell.sucks to Dell? Or to individuals that want to gripe about Dell?
If the former, wouldn’t something like .feedback make more sense?
Andrew,
My hope is to create a dialog no matter who registers the name, but there will be trademarks deference built into the system.
As for the use of “sucks” over the more prosaic “feedback,” well, I think that is the reason. We need to get people’s attention so as to create the hub we intend. And cutting through the clutter of daily life requires taking some liberties with the language.
The test will be to see if consumers come to believe their comments are being heard and if companies come to rely on the registry to give them access to real points-of-view.
Watch this space!
Cheers,
John Berard
Same John Berard who represents the BC on the GNSO Council? If so, that seems relevant to me and an odd omission, IMHO.
It’s the same John Berard. I didn’t think his role on the Council was especially relevant here. Plenty of applicants and people representing applicants are on the Council.