At #ICANN53, I had the honor of meeting Dr. Stephen Crocker, one of the inaugural inductees into the Internet Hall of Fame, and someone I deeply respect and admire. He’s known as one of the internet’s founding members, as he developed the protocol and procedures for the ARPANET.

During our conversation, he asked me if his last name, Crocker.xyz was still available. It was. Crocker.com, however, was not available and had been registered back in 1994.

On my flight out of Buenos Aires after the conference, I checked the WHOIS record for Crocker.xyz and was pleasantly surprised to learn it was registered by Dr. Crocker! It was amazing to see that one of the most influential people in the development of the internet now owns his last name in .xyz!

Riding out this excitement, I returned to the news that L.A. Biz Journal had published a story about .xyz. The excitement didn’t simmer down there. .com’s PR team issued a rebuttal to the story stating that my opinion about the (un)availability of .coms was false. I DISAGREE.

TheChallenge.xyz

In response to .com, I’ve created TheChallenge.xyz to see what real internet users find. Given that there are roughly 117 million .coms in the world, and only around 1 million .xyz domains, I believe it’s only common sense that better names are available in .xyz.

The challenge is simple: who can register the best .com and the best .xyz domain name?

To keep a level playing field, XYZ will award $1,000 each to the best .com domain and the best .xyz domain. Whether you submit a .com or .xyz domain name, you will both have a chance to win TheChallenge.xyz. .com and .xyz names are judged separately.

On August 10th and September 7th, TheChallenge.xyz will announce one winner for the best .xyz and one winner for the best .com domain submitted during the applicable entry period. Judging will be done by an expert in the domain name industry.

Remember, new registrations only.

As a domain industry veteran myself, I believe good domain names are ones that are memorable, concise, and identifiable. Think keywords that represent or describe your business, or like Dr. Crocker’s recent registration of his name, or in general, domains that are easy to remember so people know exactly how to access your site.

Do you think you can register the best domains? Take TheChallenge.xyz now. Challenge and ask your friends and family, too. Let’s see what you can come up with.

Thanks for listening & BOOOOOOM!

D

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

TheChallenge.xyz contest is sponsored and administered by XYZ.COM LLC. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Contest website: TheChallenge.xyz. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and DC (excluding Arizona), 18 years or older. For more details, including prize descriptions and mail-in alternate method of entry, visit the Official Rules. This contest is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Verisign, the registry operator of .COM, or by any ICANN accredited registrar. Void where prohibited.