The .CO registry set up a website http://Opportunity.co to showcase websites developed by .CO Founders.
The .CO Founders Program was an initiative designed by the .CO Registry to engage early adopters (called “.CO Founders”, a word hack on the term cofounders which means a person or persons who start a new business jointly). The registry granted .CO Founders premium domain names like T.co and Angel.co to people and companies, and in turn, the .Cofounders agree to develop and market a website using the domain.
Though premium names like T.co went to established companies like Twitter, the program was open to the masses.
List of .CO Founders websites
Here’s a list of sites we’ve found so far that have evolved their .CO domain into a website.
We’ll regularly update this page as more are launched. If you have a tip on a .CO Founder’s website, submit your tip here)
Angellist landed Angel.co as part of the .CO Founders Program. According to Opportunity.co, which features several domains already developed, Angel Investors play a vital part in getting some of the world's most innovative startups up and running. Angel.co brings Angels Investors and Startups together!
.CO domain registrations has passed the 300,000 mark, the .CO registry is reporting on its home page.
People of all walks of life – speculators, companies, individuals – are registering the domain names. The .CO registry celebrated its launch of the domain to the general public earlier this week, with much fanfare, and hopes of the domain avoiding the same stigma that has plagued other domains such as .biz, .tel, and .mobi.
To put 300,000 registrations in perspective, .biz the domain that is intended to be used for businesses only has 2 million registrations and change to date. The .biz extension was created in 2001.
As Mike Berkens of TheDomains.com reports, "E.Co, which was just purchased for $81K in June, is back up for sale with a new price tag of $500K."
If you were one of the single applicants for a .CO domain, by now the domain name is sitting securely in your account at your registrar. During the landrush phase, you had the opportunity to submit an application before general availability began.
Now with the landrush phase closed and the general public snatching up thousands of .CO domains, those domains that received multiple applicants during the Landrush phase will battle it out at auction.
Though there is always high uncertainly with each new domain released to the public, reports of domains like e.co selling for $81,000 and o.co selling for $350,000, it doesn’t take a genius to predict that .co domains headed to auction (particularly coveted keyword and product domains) will fetch price tags in the thousands.
According to the .CO website:
Multiple Applicants: If there were several applications for a .CO domain name, all of applicants for the particular domain will have the chance to participate in an auction for that domain. Only applicants for the particular domain will be eligible to participate in the auction for the requested domain.
Auctions Notices & Scheduling: Notices for auction scheduling will be sent no later than July 30, 2010 requesting applicants to sign up for the auction site. Notices for auctions will be sent from service(at)COAuctions(dot)co. Auctions will be scheduled during the first 3 weeks of August and will last 7 days. Once an auction ends and payment has been completed by the winning bidder, the domain will be awarded within 10 days.
On his blog, Elliot Silver writes, "I’ve been excited about this for the past few days, and I needed to make sure a few things were in place before announcing it. After reviewing my Founder’s Program application for a web development project, the .CO Registry has awarded my company the geographic domain name Bahamas.CO. I love the Bahamas and I plan to visit sometime this winter, and I will be back there again in March for Domain Roundtable."
It was announced earlier today on ElliotsBlog.com, that Silver Internet Ventures, LLC run by Domain Investor and Blogger Elliot Silver was awarded the domain name Bahamas.co as part of the .CO Founder’s Program. The program, which is now over, according to the .CO web site is an initiative designed to engage early adopters, also known as .CO Founders, to proactively develop and maintain domains with the .CO extension.
The .CO registry has launched Opportunity.co, a page that will be updated with the websites created by .CO Founders.
Though lean right now, the .CO registry is eager to update the website in order to showcase how .CO Founders have developed their names.
The clock is ticking is down on .CO Founders to meet their end of the bargain.
The news of Bahamas.co being licensed to Elliot Silver’s company made front page news on the .CO website just hours ago, after being tweeted by @dotco (the company’s Twitter account).
Check it out – noted domain investor and blogger announces Bahamas.co – http://retwt.me/1NYhm @elliotsblog – Go Elliot! #cofounder
Some 279,000 .co domain names have been registered to date, for what could be a domain with a lot of staying power. Companies like Twitter and TechCrunch have jumped on board as early adopters.
The Fine Print of the .CO Founders Agreement
You must use your best efforts to launch your site within 30 days of signing the .CO Founders Contract, and in any event before July 20, 2010.
You must agree that your site will remain in good working order, with unique, meaningful content; user-friendly interfaces; and broad user appeal, for a minimum of 2 years (potentially longer for domains considered “Super Premium” by .CO Internet). Use of each .CO Founder domain will be licensed to the winning applicant until this commitment has been met (subject to all other program terms and conditions), at which point the applicant will be permitted to register their domain name with an accredited .CO registrar of their choice (standard registration fees will apply).
During the license period, you must agree to actively market and promote the .CO domain in a manner that is likely to produce widespread awareness of your site based on industry best practices.
Sites currently using .CO now as part of the Founders Program include:
t.co
URLs don’t get shorter than t.co. Twitter is now using t.co as part of a service to protect users from harmful activity. Links on Twitter pass through t.co and are checked by a list of dangerous sites, in order to warn users and keep Twitter a trusted environment. Short, safe and to the point!
(source: Opportunity.co)
IWNY.co
Internet Week NY is the annual festival dedicated to innovation, creativity and growth in the internet. IWNY.co is the place to see what’s happening, as it’s happening, through livestreaming video.
(source: Opportunity.co)
Disrupt.co
TechCrunch Disrupt stages the Startup Battlefield. Who is bringing the most innovative ideas to the internet? Visit disrupt.co to find out.
(source: Opportunity.co)
GetSighted.co
Are you properly protecting and caring for your eyesight? Transitions Optical has teamed up with television star Erik Estrada as a Healthy Sight Officer, to keep an eye out for citizens who are “breaking the law”! Be careful, or you might just get a “Sightation”…
(source: Opportunity.co)
To date, nearly 250,000 .co domain names have been registered. But is it just a bunch of specualtion?
.CO domains are now open to all. Must have keyword domains are registered, but like many other domains such as .mobi and .me, many keyword domains remain largely available in several different categories.
Memories of Failed Domains
The memories of failed domains and investments like .MOBI, have left many avoiding new domains, or at least avoiding hefty upfront investments.
How did Music.mobi ever turn out after the buyer paid $616,000 for the name? Or games.mobi for $401,500? Or flowers.mobi for $200,000 purchased by Rick Schwartz in 2007?
The last notable .MOBI sale for over $50,000 that was public, was Casino.mobi in September 2009 for $135,000.
Domain investors are increasingly wary about new domains. Although the flood of new domains presents challenges, some organizations and individuals are finding creative ways to use alternate domains. It’s just a matter of marketing and money.
For anyone who invests in domain names, owning the best .COM domain is an important part of a portfolio, but taking some risks can pay off.
If .CO domains turn out to be successful, it could serve to be a smart investment for those who added .CO domains to their portfolio early.
All that said, which .CO domains did you register?
We are conscious about our budget and don’t have the money to speculate, but we registered a handful through GoDaddy including LaborDay.co, MemorialDay.co, IndependenceDay.co and a few other holidays.
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