On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 6:03 PM, Udhay Shankar N <[email protected]> wrote: > On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 4:06 PM, Keith Adam <[email protected]> wrote: > >> (When I saw the listing in the search engine there was nothing to suggest >> that the majority of the participants in the list were predominantly living >> in India or part of the Indian diaspora). > > Actually, I don't believe that "the majority of the participants in > the list were predominantly living in India or part of the Indian > diaspora". About half, if that. As I've often said with a touch of > bemusement - the first place where I saw email addresses ending in > .cn, .pl, .gr and .yu was my own list. > > The last of these top level domains does not exist anymore, and the > one immediately preceding it is an open question. > > We live in InterestingTimes.cn
While on the topic of top level domain names -- Which country is the luckiest (and why)? -- http://qr.ae/qPxcc == The fact that Tuvalu as a nation makes money because of its name, it tops my list of luckiest nations. All countries receive a top-level domain name on the Internet which features as a suffix to that country's Internet addresses, for example, .in for India, .za for South Africa, .be for Belgium, .uk for the United Kingdom, .hk for Hong Kong, etc. Tuvalu hit the jackpot when it received the .tv domain name, although initially the Tuvalu people didn't realize they owned the most recognizable suffix of all, .tv . Then, in 1999, a Canadian businessman, Jason Chapnik, walked into a Tuvalu parliament meeting and announced his intention to buy their .tv domain name. Following negotiations, in 2000 Tuvalu decided to sign up with Chapnik and form a new company DotTV based in Pasadena, California. The island has a 20% stake in DotTV and received $50 million for the lucrative deal, payable in quarterly payments of $1 million dollar each over a 10-year period. This unexpected source of income enabled Tuvalu to become economically independent. Where in the past it could not become a member of the United Nations as it could not afford its $20,000 membership fee, it joined the UN and on 5 September 2000 became its 189th member. It also enabled the islands to upgrade their infrastructure with roads being laid, the installation of electricity on outlying islands and a school being built on the main island. The runway on Tuvalu's airport was also extended to accommodate the larger planes. This enabled Tuvalu to export food for the first time in its history. Tuvalu is not the only country cashing in on this dotcom windfall. Countries like Turkmenistan (.tm), Tonga (.to), Moldavia (.md) and the Federated States of Micronesia (.fm) all have a country code that resembles a well-known phrase, although none as desirable as Tuvalu's .tv suffix. The South Pacific island of Niue with domain name .nu, has already sold more than 70,000 addresses with the .nu suffix for $45 per year, mainly to European organizations, as "nu" means "now" in Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. The economy in Niue has been thriving since the export of their two little letters started in 1997. Obviously there's money to be made in cyber world if you have the right name.
