Registrar Connections

January 2007

In this issue:

Save the Date: Registrar Days is coming to Seoul and Beijing in April 2007

VeriSign will host Registrar Days events in Seoul, Korea and in Beijing, China in April. The one-day event in each location is designed for registrar executives with responsibility for strategy, marketing and the general business. Participating registrars will have the opportunity to learn about the latest products and product-news from VeriSign as well as network with other registrars.

Look for more details as well as registration information in the coming weeks. All accredited VeriSign registrars are invited and encouraged to attend. For more information, contact namingmarketing@verisign.com.

Offer Your Resellers a Secure Domain Name Suggestion Service

VeriSign’s Domain Name Suggestion Service is a fast, reliable, and secure service with an excellent track record for suggesting domain names that are converted into domain name registrations. The service is offered with a number of optional configurable parameters that allows you to customize the offering for your different reseller markets. Whether integrating the service into your retail site or repacking it for resellers, the service is completely free! Visit our Web Site at www.verisign.com/domainnamesuggestion or send an email to info@verisign-grs.com to learn more about Domain Name Suggestion Service and get access to our Web-based product demo.

Verisign Newsdesk Named Finalist in 2007 SIIA Codie Awards

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) announced early this month the list of finalists for the 22nd Annual Codie Awards 2007. VeriSign Newsdesk part of the VeriSign Real Time Publisher Services product suite has been named a finalist in the category for Best Online News Service – selected by representatives from the software and information industry trade press, mainstream technology writers, analysts, consultants and subject-matter experts.

VeriSign Newsdesk is a personalized news portal providing access to real-time news and business information from over 25,000 global sources including many of the world's leading publications. In addition to news and business information VeriSign Newsdesk also provides access to 7 million of the most frequently updating blogs in the global blogosphere.

The service is trusted by hundreds of leading organizations to deliver real-time news and actionable intelligence that drives informed business decisions. “VeriSign Real-Time Publisher Services makes me aware of the most up to date information available in real-time, which gives the opportunity to provide our executives with unprecedented access to the latest news on commodities,” stated Natasha Havenga. Information Specialist for Spoornet – a division of Transnet, which offers Freight Logistic Solutions.

To learn more about how you and your resellers can leverage the benefits of VeriSign Newsdesk and VeriSign Real Time Publisher Services, send an email to namingmarketing@verisign.com.

Feature Series: .tv Case Study #5—ISMA.tv

Each month, Registrar Connection highlights .tv customers from diverse but interrelated industries such as the digital media service, non-profit, communication and television & media service industries. Each feature story will be a condensed version of the case study and will focus specifically on the unique value and strength of the .tv domain name. To get a PDF copy of the complete case study, go to verisign.com/tvmarketing, and scroll down to the Case Studies section, or send an email request to namingmarketing@verisign.com.

IPTV Industry Leaders Naturally Turn to ISMA.tv to Find the Alliance

The Internet Streaming Media Alliance—an association dedicated to the adoption and deployment of open standards for streaming rich media content—registered the “ISMA.tv” domain name in order to establish and maintain a highly successful Web presence in the .tv domain name space.

“Although ISMA checked into the availability of domain names within ‘.org’ and ‘.com’, we concluded that the .tv domain name was the most appropriate since it more accurately reflects the content and context of the work that the Alliance is performing,” said Michael T. LoBue, Executive Director for ISMA.

To read the full case study and other .tv success stories, go to www.verisign.com/tvmarketing and scroll down to the Case Studies section.

360 Degrees:

VeriSign Powers NBX Video for Sports Fans
VeriSign’s Intelligent Content Delivery Network™ Brings Original Podcasts and Video to Sports Social Networking Site

LAS VEGAS, NV, January 9, 2007 – VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure for the networked world, today announced that NBX, an online sports entertainment company, will use the new VeriSign Intelligent Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve its user experience for online video.

VeriSign is enabling NBX to deliver high-quality, secure podcasts and videocasts to sports fans via the Internet. NBX.com offers online, interactive sports competition to avid sports fans through the NBX Fantasy Sportsbook, which combines fantasy sports betting with an activity-based social network and original sports media programming. Users simply register on the website, create a profile and can begin competing and communicating with each other instantly and it is free to join and play. In addition, NBX users have access to view all of NBX's sports media content, including blogs, videocasts and podcasts.

“Just like other media and entertainment companies, sports entertainment companies need a secure and cost-effective way to distribute the Internet-based content their customers are demanding,” said Todd Johnson, senior vice president for global marketing for VeriSign. “The VeriSign Intelligent CDN, through the latest streaming technology and Kontiki peer-to-peer (P2P) technology, enables NBX to offer the best possible experience for sports fans by providing them a choice in how their content is delivered.”

To read the full press release, go to VeriSign News & Events

Customer Service: Frequently Asked Questions

This section includes some recent questions handled by the Customer Service group. This week's topics include: .DE Domain Registration failure and Child Nameserver Hosting Domains.

Question: What is the common cause of .DE Domain Registration failure?
Answer: .DE NIC requires that hosts submitted for registration must be authoritative for the domain name prior to registration. If the domain name fails the DNS check, the request will be pending. The registrant has 30 days to correct the configuration or the registration will be cancelled. Please note that the registrant will need to notify VeriSign to resubmit the request after the configuration is corrected. A zone check tool is available at the .DE NIC site. http://zonecheck.denic.de/zonecheck/

Question: How can I delete a domain that has a child nameserver hosting domains that are not registered to me?
Answer: You will need to rename the child nameserver to something else using the Registrar Tool or EPP. This will essentially delete the child nameserver. You can then delete the parent domain.

Special Report on Technology from eMarketer: Internet Video Audience

No matter how you measure it, more people than ever are watching more online video more frequently. However, rapidly increasing audience size and interest have not yet translated to a large advertising market. With the advent of improved video quality, better ad targeting (ie, greater relevance) and robust video search that offers a 21-century version of TV Guide®, marketers will find a fair degree of receptivity to online video ads. Even today, much of the audience is responsive, such as the 31% of respondents to an Online Publishers Association (OPA) survey who checked out a Web site after viewing an Internet video ad……

Search engines are not the main way people find video online. This is due largely to the inherent difficulty of indexing video content rather than with user preferences for other means of finding videos. As video search becomes more effective over the next several years, the online audience will rely on it more and more. This will create new opportunities for video advertising…..

Internet video appeals to advertisers to combat DVR ad skipping. By running an ad directly before the content (called pre-roll), advertisers hope for a captive audience. However, when Wired magazine asked its readers what type of revenue model they would be most likely to tolerate on YouTube, only 14% said they would accept pre-roll ads. That small—but not insignificant and mainly tech-savvy—group likely indicates that a larger segment of the Internet video audience will find pre-roll acceptable on various sites (not just YouTube), but only when appended to longer, high-quality content……

For full report, read eMarketer's Internet Video Audience report or send an email request to namingmarketing@verisign.com.

In the News

This section contains a selection of articles pertaining to the Domain Name Industry compiled by Information, Inc.

"U.S.: No Net Governance Changes Expected"
CNet (01/16/07); Broache, Anne

Senior White House officials said yesterday that they do not see U.S. control over Internet governance as being a major issue in the future. Their optimism was fueled by comments made by new International Telecommunications Union Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure, who said that under his leadership the organization will not seek "to take over the governance of Internet." Rather, Toure says ITU will focus on cybersecurity and bridging the digital gap. As recently as last fall's Internet Governance Forum, representatives from developing nations expressed their discontent with the current system of governance, saying the U.S. held too much sway and calling for international oversight of the system. U.S. Ambassador David Gross and Assistant Secretary of Commerce John Kneuer said Toure's comments assure that the United Nations will let ICANN continue to oversee technical management of the Internet. Gross, in charge of information policy and coordinating international communications, said the ITU's new position is "very much in harmony with our views." Meanwhile, Kneuer confirmed that the U.S. still plans to eventually privatize ICANN's operations. Kneuer said "coordinating the transition of the [domain name system] to the private sector...remains important for us."

(http://news.com.com/U.S.+No+Net+governance+changes+expected/2100-1028_3-6150613.html)

"ICANN Announces New Staff Appointments"
ICANN.org (01/17/07)

ICANN has appointed several new staff members, including well-known technology reporter Kieren McCarthy, who has spent about a decade covering Internet and technology issues for several media outlets, including The Register, PC Week, and the Independent. McCarthy has been appointed general manager of Public Participation, and he will report to ICANN's Paul Levins, the vice president of Corporate Affairs. McCarthy's primary task will be to encourage end users and other Internet stakeholders to actively participate in ICANN's processes. Meanwhile, ICANN appointed Veni Markovski to the Regional Liaison team that covers Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and similar territories in that region of the world. Markovski is a former ICANN board member; he will report to Theresa Swinehart, vice president of Global and Strategic Partnerships. ICANN also appointed telecommunications attorney Stacy Burnette as director of Contractual Compliance. Carole Cornell, who has 25 years of project management experience with several organizations, was hired as ICANN's director of Project Office.

(http://www.icann.org)

"ICANN Announces Plans for Conclusion of sTLD Application Process"
ICANN.org (01/04/07)

Of the 10 sTLD proposals presented to ICANN since Dec. 15, 2003, four have been accepted and are currently operational; two have been agreed to, yet are not operational; one has been rejected; and two remain in negotiation. Dot-cat, .jobs, .mobi, and .travel are operational. Dot-asia and .tel are approved but are not yet live. Dot-post and .xxx remain in negotiation with ICANN. Lastly, ICANN rejected .mail. ICANN's May 10, 2006, rejection of the terms of the .xxx proposal was not a rejection of the entire .xxx concept. ICANN plans to publish a revised proposal and agreement for .xxx once the talks are completed. In addition, ICANN is negotiating with .post applicant Universal Postal Union on outstanding issues; ICANN will either break off or complete these talks by June 30, 2007.

(http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-04jan07.htm