The board of ICANN, the international non-profit that administers the domain name system, announced CEO Rod Beckstrom would be leaving at the end of his term next summer. It's time for consumers and business to tell the organization what kind of person they want to lead it – and what priorities to set.
Another aspect that fascinates me is that the people who work in the public interest in ICANN are all volunteers. Some of us (me included) get flown to the meetings three times a year and our hotel is paid for. But there's a whole other non-commercial side that doesn't get any help at all. And of course industry is represented by people who deal with ICANN for a living, or those who can afford to hire lobbyists. That's a challenging atmosphere for small- to medium-size businesses as well as consumers.
"Also, is it possible for an individual to deal directly with ICANN to set up a domain? If not would ICANN benefit from setting up their own hosting organization vs. basically granting other organizations the privilege for a fee?"
No. You have to go through one of the registrars. You don't actually have to use an ICANN-accredited registrar, though you probably should, even though the accreditation program is very weak. I can't recommend one over another beyond that really...
ICANN administers the domain name system -- it's really all about numbers and addresses. It also has some limited responsibility for "stability, safety and security" of the domain name system, but in my opinion the organization just really doesn't do a whole lot other than to protect the revenue streams of its moneyed interests.
Kevin Wilson actually quit in January. So it's taken this long to find an interim. Too bad because he was a good guy as far as I knew. He joined in June 2007, so wasn't there that long (though fairly long by ICANN standards). Doug Brent, who was COO for four years, left about a year ago and that was a big loss. Rumor has it that employee turnover was one of the reasons Rod Beckstrom was not invited to renew his contract.
ICANN's fumbles and bumbles, along with the esoteric nature of what it does and the difficulties of really understanding that for a lot of folk, seem to be big irritations. I envision a club of cohorts who think they can pretty much do as they like, regardless of the outside world. Unfortunately, that world is starting to demand some accountability. We'll see what the next year brings.
I will definitely look more into how the system works. Thanks for helping me out and pointing me into the right direction.
What are your thoughts on Rod Beckstrom leaving ICANN? Do you think with him out of the picture the new GTLD program won't go through? I wonder how linked his firing is to the program?
ICANN only keeps track of who runs which Top Level domain (and IP address blocks to RIRs, ports and protocols via the IANA which it has a no-fee contract to run). I suggest that you research further into their role and how the DNS works, as it seems you are way "off" in your understanding.
Thank you, Beau for sharing your insights on this issue.
You mentioned of rumors that the ITU or possibly the UN might take over. What are your thoughts on this and would being part of a larger organization make ICANN more recognizable and respected to the international community?
Also, is it possible for an individual to deal directly with ICANN to set up a domain? If not would ICANN benefit from setting up their own hosting organization vs. basically granting other organizations the privilege for a fee?
From what I understand looking into it a year or so ago... companies or organizations pay ICANN to become a distributor or hosting company and then the hosting companies would compete with each other to attract individuals who want a domain name. The hosting company is responsible for maintaining servers for the owners of the domain names to upload and maintain files. ICANN's responsibility is devising a system to keep track of what domain is registered and to whom. ICANN keeps track of the individual owners of domain names, which hosting company represents them and has to make sure that there are enough names available
The circumstances of his departure are dysfunctional enough. Press releases and tweets from Beckstrom indicating that he only committed to a three year term and that he has decided to leave at the end of it. Press stories that the board told him to go at some kind of secret meeting. Transparency is much needed.
It wouldn't be the first time, but a group of Chinese engineers has proposed a means by which the Internet's root could be split, enabling secondary, independent networks that could be government-controlled. The Internet's root security committee is taking such proposals seriously.
ICANN is now offering refunds to new applicants for its top-level domain initiative, 10 years in the making, because the application system was taken offline due to a "glitch." ICANN has collected over $350 million in application fees, but we don't know what that number might be after refunds. Is this any way to run the Domain Name System?
Blackhole 1.2.3, the latest version of the most popular black-market exploit kit, apparently has already been used by Brazilian fraudsters to try to perpetrate a scam. The new kit, released at the end of March, can bypass sandboxes in Java, and the Brazilians used it to try to convince accountants they were about to lose licenses.
A problem with ICANN's application software has delayed the "big reveal" of new domain names for two weeks. What the organization calls a "glitch" allowed some domain applicants to see the data of others – not exactly inspiring confidence in ICANN's ability to bring potentially hundreds of new names online.
US counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke, who came to prominence with his prescient warnings before the 9/11 attacks, tells Smithsonian Magazine the US was responsible for the Stuxnet supersmart worm that attacked parts of nuclear reactors in Iran – and in the process, has given away one of the world's most sophisticated cyberweapons.
ICANN is in a crisis. But if it goes away, so will its unique "multistakeholder model," which allows Internet users to participate alongside business, government, and industry.
As ICANN's former board chairman grabs a plum job with a domain seller, we're left to wonder just how many new registrations are "defensive," claimed by companies worried about protecting their brands.
Free wireless is like tap water in Europe and Asia. Why is the US so far behind? Because of a near-religious commitment to non-government interference in markets, America lacks basic wireless infrastructure and will pay the price competitively.
Only a few new domain name applications have been given the go-ahead, so be wary of offers for "pre-registration" of the .suffix of your choice. Most likely, the registrars making such offers don't have the authority.
Yahoo's new CEO can't go back to what Yahoo was; that's how it got to what it is! Instead she has to look at something that Yahoo has always rejected, which is a relationship with the telcos and cablecos. They'd love a partner in creating service applications.
Steve and Nicole are at HCL's Unstructure conference at Disneyworld where Malcolm Gladwell and his hair gave a fascinating keynote on the advantages of being an "outsider."
There's more to mobile technology than cellphones and PDAs. The next time you get a package delivered, get your electric/gas meter read, or have a service tech over to service your cable TV, say hullo to the Internet
An old-time singer proposed yelling 'Fire' when falling into a vat of chocolate because nobody would come if you yelled 'Chocolate!' Do we need to resort to this kind of subterfuge to get support for things we buy online? And could support turn out to be online retailers’ Achilles heel?
CEO is betting that ISPs will stymie online downloads of video games by switching from all-you-can-eat Internet pricing to per-bit charges in the near future.
When Reiter gets incensed over incompetent Verizon FiOS order-taking and support, he broadcasts it via Twitter. Did it do any good? How should your company offer Twitter support? Watch this for all the answers.
GE CEO Jeff Immelt talks to IE about the difference between his company and organizations like Microsoft and Google (think 'vertical') and how GE plans to take them on in the future.
So here we are, the last day of the 2013 US Open Golf Championship at Merion, and Phil Mickelson -- who has been a US Open runner-up five times now but never taken the trophy -- is right up there at the top of the leaderboard.
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