The new TLD program was a long time coming and now we have over 600 options for domain name endings, with more on the way.

It made sense to a lot of people that options other than the already crowded .com space were needed but did we really envisage the plethora of ultimately “similar” TLDs that would rise from the ICANN process?

I hear question everyday like: Is .global giving me or my customers anything different to .web? If I have a .club domain will that really make a difference to my target audience? Why would I want a .hiv domain when I already have my .com?

I have asked myself questions like this for years throughout the new TLD application process and have met many people with differing opinions which all seemed as valid as the others. Now we have some a clear cross section of launched new TLDs we have the option to examine this more closely…

For example, city or geoTLDs have been shown to add value within their markets. I have read a number of studies that conclude that domain names with a localized TLD offer greater confidence to Internet Users, even more than their .com equivalent. It seems people love their cities or regions and trust that something like a .london domain will increase their local traffic as well as give something back to the community that they love.

Community—now this was a little bit of a “dirty word” when it came to ICANN’s new TLD application process. It seemed that for most, the bar was set too high to achieve this utopian classification to enable the ability to essentially bypass all other challengers for the same TLD.

What community should actually mean is being able to offer something that, without competition allows you to bring together those who are hoping to achieve the same goal or work for the same cause.

Personally I have always worked very hard to see new TLDs offer this community engagement and in fact change the way that we see a TLD—as more than just a domain ending.

I am slightly biased today as I work for dotHIV who are responsible for bringing the first social cause TLD to the world—.hiv—but I believe that offering a domain which works as an addition to a company or organizations digital identity, rather than one that comes in direct competition, is a true innovation in the online space.

.hiv offers the opportunity to wear your digital Red Ribbon alongside your existing homepage.tld. No competition, just a worthwhile addition to let your customers and competitors know that they can make a difference by clicking on your website.

Now there are current application for TLDs such as: .eco , .gay and .green and it is my hope that somewhere beyond this battle for .com supremacy, we can make room for those innovative and ultimately worthwhile TLDs that can live alongside our current and future choices.

So can new TLDs co-exist? Let the debate begin!