Talking IDNs, ccTLDs and ICANN in Vegas

Later this week I’ll be heading off to Las Vegas for the first event of 2014 – NamesCon.

It’s the first time that NamesCon is being held and I’m really looking forward to it.

Why?

Because it’s not one of these “over the top” and “uber expensive” conferences that cost and arm and a leg to attend .. so it’s more likely to attract “normal” people. (Well “normal” is a relative term, we’re still talking about people with an interest or passion for domain names 🙂 )

I’ve been invited to speak on two panels, which is nice.

One of them is all about IDNs and ccTLDs. While the focus for some people might be “new TLDs” this year, that shouldn’t be the only focus. IDNs, which we’ve mentioned in the past, are an interesting, though challenging area. (IDN = internationalised domain name so you can get full UTF-8 characters so accents or even non-Latin scripts will work)

And ccTLDs .. the bane of my life! (only joking!) Country code domain names .. they can be incredibly quirky. Some are 100% automated and follow the same rules and processes as .com domains, while others take over a month to register and take “manual” to a whole new level.

The other panel I’ll be on is all about becoming an ICANN accredited registrar. I’ll be joined by Tim Cole, who is ICANN’s senior registrar liaison. Hopefully I’ll be able give Bert or Squishy a day out, though we’re trying to avoid “death by Powerpoint”!

Here’s the official release:

Blacknight CEO to Speak at NamesCon in Las Vegas Michele Neylon to join panel on IDN and ccTLDs January 7, 2014 – Carlow, Ireland – Blacknight CEO Michele Neylon is headed to Las Vegas, Nevada to Speak at NamesCon, the largest conference dedicated to the domain industry. NamesCon, which is in its first year, will be hosted by Richard Lau at the Tropicana hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference will take place from January 13-15 2014 and is a gathering of companies from all areas of the domain business. Over 400 members of the domain industry are currently registered ranging from registry, registrar, marketers, domainers, service providers and enthusiasts. NamesCon sessions are focusing largely on New gTLDs, however there are several sessions covering topics such as IDN and ccTLDs, becoming a registrar, domaining and much more. Neylon will be speaking on two panels, “Regional Market Opportunities, IDN and ccTLDs” and “How to Become a Registrar, ICANN Accreditation 101.” “How to Become a Registrar, ICANN Accreditation 101” will take place on January 14, at 2:55 pm. This session will help attendees better understand the benefits and strengths of accrediting directly with ICANN. It will also shed light on the process, length, criteria and costs associated. Tim Cole of ICANN will join Neylon for this session. “Regional Market Opportunities, IDN and ccTLDs,” which takes place on January 15 at 4:00 pm, is devoted to New Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), the global market and Country Code (cc) Top Level Domains. The panel aims to help attendees understand regional subtleties and ccTLDs better and meet some of the operators of the two character codes from around the world. It will also shed light on values of these TLDs in the primary and secondary marketplace. Nigel Roberts of the Channel Islands Domain Registry and Jothan Frakes will join Neylon on stage. “I am honored to be invited to speak at NamesCon,” Neylon states. “This is the first truly industry wide event that is by the community, for the community. As the CEO of a European Registrar and hosting company, I work closely with IDN and ccTLDs and understand the value of these domains. It is a pleasure to share my knowledge with the community so everyone may understand and benefit from the opportunities that surround these domains. We can all benefit from remembering that the domain world is much bigger than just a handful of commonly known extensions.” Domain industry veterans that will be joining Blacknight at NamesCon include VeriSign, Afilias, Hexonet, PeopleBrowsr, AfterNIC and eNom. Follow Blacknight’s adventures at NamesCon on Twitter at @Blacknight . For more information on NamesCon or to register for the event, please visit http://www.namescon.com follow the conference on Twitter at @NamesCon or #namescon For more information on Blacknight’s suite of online services please visit http://www.blacknight.com

About Blacknight:
Blacknight are an Irish based, ICANN accredited domain registrar and hosting company. Recipients of several awards for their revolutionary use of social media, Blacknight are one of Europe’s most cutting edge Internet companies. Blacknight constantly seek to lead the way by introducing innovative solutions for its client base and provide dedicated servers and colocation as well as a comprehensive range of Microsoft Windows and Linux based hosting plans and domain name registration services to business globally.