The internet is undergoing what is being described as its biggest change in more than a decade.
The rules are being loosened so there will be thousands more domain names, like .kiwi.
There are hundreds of millions of websites, but only a handful of domain names, like .com, .org and .co.nz. That is changing with the arrival of .kiwi.
"Kiwi is much more social," says Dot Kiwi chief executive Tim Johnson. "It's more friendly. It taps into the culture and the values that we have as New Zealanders."
A group of expat Kiwis have spent a couple of years and a seven-figure sum securing the rights from ICANN, the international organisation that regulates domain names.
"I think anyone wanting to get into this game is going to have to expect seven figures-plus," says Mr Johnson. "It's not a small undertaking."
ICANN wants to rapidly increase the variety of domain names.
"The seven original ones, plus the country codes, are really historic, and the internet's moved on," says Internet New Zealand's David Farrar. "So people will be able to get .books, .kiwi, .travel, .islam possibly."
But just to confuse things, as well as .kiwi, there is also .kiwi.nz. It was approved by Internet New Zealand and the Domain Name Commission.
"We think it is a great compliment they brought that out when they heard about what we were doing," says Mr Johnson. "I think the internet user is quite sophisticated [so it is not confusing]."
So does this mean companies or individuals will have to pay to secure multiple domain names?
"You actually have to develop a strategy around which names am I going to invest into, which ones am I not going to invest into," says Mr Johnson.
Dot Kiwi is trying to get ahead of the pack. It announced today it's signed a five-year deal to sponsor Triathlon New Zealand.
3 News
source: newshub archive
