[NA-Discuss] Help create the .nyc Internet space for New York and New Yorkers

[Evan Leibovitch]

Hi Thomas,

I must admit that your answers are increasing my confusion rather than
reducing them.
> Who is going to organize and operate something like www.hotels.nyc
> <http://www.hotels.nyc> are great questions. I know the hotel trade
> association here would be pleased (will demand it). On the other
> hand, if we auction it off, we might get needed funds for civic
> education on using the net (we are chartered by New York State as a
> not-for-profit education organization).
So... the intent is that the excess revenue anticipated will be funneled
into education programs. Interesting... but as a non-profit, what are
the contingencies for operating at a loss?

> Allocation and ownership are tough questions to deal with. We're still
> working on corporate governance, with a variety of possibilities
> presented on this governance discussion page
> <http://www.openplans.org/projects/campaign-for.nyc/board-of-directors>,
>  so as to add the requisite legitimacy to our effort, so we're not yet
> in a position to make a decision like who gets www.hotels.nyc
> <http://www.hotels.nyc>. But we've got our thinking beanies on. If you
> have some thoughts, please contribute them to our wiki
> <http://www.connectingnyc.openplans.org>.
I assume that all this will be determined _before_ any application goes
forward.

I would also note that there is significant opportunity for confusion if
the method of allocating www.hotels.<city> differs significantly between
the various city-based TLDs.

How is this allocation done for .berlin? Why would the same approach not
work across all city domains? Shouldn't there be some consistency for
the Internet users of the world? Else, it's back to the search engines
and all this effort for useful names is an expensive waste.
 
> And if you have a billion $s marketing budget to create
> www.nychotels.travel <http://www.nychotels.travel> as an intuitive
> global destination for those interested in booking a nyc hotel room,
> send me your paypal account and I'll ante up the $100.
In what alternate universe does one believe that www.hotels.nyc would
not require a massive marketing budget itself? It's not as if
competition in that field isn't already plentiful and fierce.

"Intuitive"  is in the eye of the beholder, and highly subjective.

> On the other hand, if the 400 year old entity that thinks of itself as
> New York City (with 1/10th of 1% of the worlds population living on
> 2/100,000ths of its surface) can get its act together and develop a
> few dozen of these tourist names and present them to a global
> audience, at the same time a .berlin and .paris are doing so, I bet
> the marketing $s will be substantially less.
I guess much depends upon who's money you're betting with.

(And somehow I suspect there are other cities with even greater
populations and/or densities who do not share this need for a TLD. It's
important to avoid "we _deserve_ this" mode.)

> P.S. "But this urgent need ..." City TLDs are not urgent, any more
> than consuming particular vitamins or minerals are to our diet. But
> long term, the vitamin companies say, they help. However, if you're
> into a competition and your competitors are taking vitamins and
> minerals and other supplements (think .uk, .hk. .sg, and perhaps soon
> .berlin and .paris) you'd better be thinking hard about sticking that
> needle in your ass.
Change "vitamins and minerals"  to "steroids" and re-ask. Simply because
others in the field are doing something dumb or wrong -- or even just
ill-advised -- is not an excuse to follow suit.

It is absolutely necessary to nail down the dirty details and find out
who will pony up and what the rules will be, before spending money that
might be better injected directly into the education programs you speak
of. Civic pride alone won't -- can't -- make this fly.

And, if service to the Internet-using public outside NYC is at all a
concern of this effort, consider having major policies harmonized
between the existing applicants (.berlin and .paris) in possible
anticipation of a (official or informal) CityNSO. Otherwise I have a
hard time supporting it as a pure matter of At-Large public interest. If
there are major differences between the different city TLD
implementations, the intuition factor you speak of will be a myth at best.

- Evan