Subscribe to UpdatesDear Friends,
The winter has been a busy one for us and significant progress has been made vis-a'-vis the .sport top-level domain as well as with the life.sport social network, as detailed herein.
Our spring .sport Update provides you with current information on the following three areas of our activity:
ICANN Nairobi Meeting
With 192 million domain names registered at the end of 2009, we witnessed a growth of 15 million new domain names year-on-year. And with over 52 billion domain name system (DNS) queries per day, i.e., people typing domain names into computers all over the world, it is clear that the Internet domain name system is ripe for expansion. The Draft Applicant Guidebook, version 4 is expected to contain critical updates on several open issues, particularly trademark/community protection and malicious conduct and is scheduled for publication prior to the ICANN Brussels meeting (20 - 25 June 2010). Read more following these short summaries of activities...
SportAccord Dubai
For dotSport LLC, this will be our third convention but, at this edition, we are pleased to announce that we are appearing for the first time as a Bronze Sponsor of this ever-growing and important gathering. SportAccord Dubai will see the debut of our alpha version of life.sport social network, something we have been discussing with all of you in the sport family from the beginning of this initiative. Read more...
Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
Spending time with - and getting to better know - IF presidents, secretary-generals, NOC and IOC officials, as well as other key administrators of sport, in the relatively relaxed Olympic environment was important work that went on from early morning until late at night for the full 12-days I was in attendance. As we continue to transfer our understanding of a shared vision of sport in 21st century to sport's leadership - complete with improved tools that enhance the relevance of all sports, grow fan bases and attract sponsors - we greatly advance an important dialogue. Read more...
The full text update of our three current activities follows:
ICANN Nairobi Meeting
The following report, written by ICANN's Karla Valente, Director Communications, is an excerpt from the recent ICANN Monthly Magazine article that she wrote. It provides a complete update on where the new top-level domain (TLD) process stands at this point in time. I thought it would be insightful for readers to 'hear' the news from ICANN directly in this Update, rather than get the usual round-up from me, so I hope you agree.
With 192 million domain names registered at the end of 2009, we witnessed a growth of 15 million new domain names year-on-year. And with over 52 billion domain name system (DNS) queries per day, i.e., people typing domain names into computers all over the world, it is clear that the Internet domain name system is ripe for expansion.
ICANN's most recent meeting (March 7 - 12, 2010) took us to Nairobi, Kenya, which is an amazing part of the world. The city sits right next to the savannah of the famous Masai Maru, from whence the well-known Masai tribe (famous for their red tartan robes) comes, so photos of wild animals with the Nairobi cityscape in the background are plentiful. Due to security concerns, the Nairobi meeting was one of the smallest meetings ICANN has had in recent years, but despite the smaller crowd it turned out to be one of the more productive ones in terms of work product generated, above all with regard to development of the new gTLD process. The progress made in Nairobi signifies the exciting times ahead for users of the Internet, and we look forward to continuing to play our part in its evolution.
Ms. Valente's report follows:
New gTLD Program-Where do we stand?
We just wrapped up our 37th international meeting in Nairobi. There were many important issues before the Board, one of them, deciding whether the Expressions of Interest/Pre-registrations (EOI) proposal should move forward. This model was originally designed to help assess demand for New gTLDs, provide [some technical] certainty and inform the program's operational readiness plan. The Board withdrew the EOI from consideration and decided to continue with the current implementation plans leading up to the launch of the New gTLD Program. Their conclusion was that the potential benefits of proceeding with an EOI process would be outweighed by the costs of potential delay to the program. Also considered was the fact that several of the open issues would need to be resolved before an EOI could be launched. So, in terms of timing and costs, it was decided the most efficient way to move the program forward is to focus energy and resources into finalizing the open issues.
What's next?
Tremendous focus is still being dedicated to addressing the remaining open issues, particularly, trademark and community protection and potential for malicious conduct [amongst others]. Those issues are open for public comment [and it] is an important opportunity for the community to participate before the Draft Applicant Guidebook, version 4 is finalized. This version is expected to contain critical updates on several open issues, particularly trademark/community protection and malicious conduct. Version 4 is scheduled for publication prior to the ICANN Brussels meeting (20 - 25 June 2010).
Staff continues working on the program's Operational Readiness. The next and final phase will select primary and back up Evaluation Panels and notify the Board of final selections. The retention of the Evaluation Panels is expected to occur in 2010.
Perhaps one of the most interesting discussions taking place in Nairobi has been around the New gTLD Program communications, which has a goal to increase global awareness of the program. The Board has resolved that: " ICANN will implement a formal launch of communications activities for the New gTLD Program, tailored according to the relevant program phases and developments, recognizing that the plan will need to be flexible to respond to unforeseen circumstances and adapt to the needs of regional audiences";"...will continue to take into account the advice of ICANN's supporting organizations and advisory committees in the New gTLD Program communication activities"; and will "...begin the formal communications plan for the New gTLD Program when the overarching issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the Board."
ICANN has undertaken significant communications activities since the Board approval of the program in June 2008. Some of these activities and plans were published in October 2009 as a Draft Communications Plan. Staff plans to revise the current communications strategy and work more closely with [ICANN] supporting organizations and advisory councils to increase the volume and effectiveness of the global outreach. More specific plans will be shared with the community soon.
One of the most critical elements of the formal communications campaign that will precede the application period is an announcement of the formal launch date. That date has not yet been officially finalized by the organization.
SportAccord Dubai
SportAccord, the annual gathering of the international sport family, is just days away (April 25-30, 2010) and we are looking forward to catching up with all of you who will be in attendance! For dotSport LLC, this will be our third convention but, at this edition, we are pleased to announce that we are appearing for the first time as a Bronze Sponsor of this ever-growing and important gathering. We have supported the goals of SportAccord and its president, Hein Verbruggen, since our arrival on the scene, and with our new sponsorship role we are ratcheting our participation up.
SportAccord Dubai will see the debut of our alpha version of life.sport social network, something we have been discussing with all of you in the sport family from the beginning of this initiative. Our goal is to provide IFs with a social network that is less about 'technology' and more 'operationally' oriented so that sport administrators can easily grasp its value for their respective sports. Needless to say, we are excited about IF response to what we believe is a compelling communications and sport/fan development tool.
Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
Seeing my 87-year old mother (being of Russian heritage) merrily engaged in a conversation with members of the Russian Olympic delegation at the Accreditation Center, on the opening day of the Winter Olympic Games, was, for me, as wonderful a sight to see as all of the phenomenal performances of the world's elite athletes that came in the days after. But it will be Canada's 14 Olympic Gold Medals that my nation brought home - in particular, in my sport of ice hockey - that I will remember the Vancouver Olympics for! (I trust that you forgive my nationalist feelings showing through so strongly...)
T-3 cars and buses shuttled us around the city and back and forth between Vancouver and the mountains enabling members of the Olympic Family to enjoy events in both localities and, while there were indeed a few difficult weather days for some events, VANOC and the IFs did a commendable job of staging all of the events and world class competitions. It could not have been a bigger celebration for Canada, but it was particularly impressive to those of us who where in Vancouver celebrating the athletes and cheering on their once-in-a-lifetime accomplishments 'live'! And what accomplishments they were! Nine one hundredths (9/100ths) of a second separated the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal winners in the Men's Downhill; nothing short of amazing, in my view!
Spending time with - and getting to better know - IF presidents, secretary-generals, NOC and IOC officials, as well as other key administrators of sport, in the relatively relaxed Olympic environment was important work that went on from early morning until late at night for the full 12-days I was in attendance. For all the wonder and expectations that people have of technology, simply sharing some time with people proffers so much more. So, to all of you with whom I was fortunate to have been able to share some time in the enchantment of the Winter Games, I would like to take this opportunity to tell each of you that it was truly my pleasure! And to the Association of Winter Olympic International Sport Federation (AWOIF) members, congratulations on having staged a spectacular show! I am particularly grateful to, and would like to personally thank, Bob Storey (FIBT), Ottavio Cinquante (ISU), Rene Fasel (IIHF), and the IOC.
As we continue to transfer our understanding of a shared vision of sport in 21st century to sport's leadership - complete with improved tools that enhance the relevance of all sports, grow fan bases and attract sponsors - we greatly advance an important dialogue. So, it is with equal measures of gratitude and expectancy that I reflect back on the exceptional Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, which I truly believe history may view - in the context of .sport - as a seminal event.
~
As always, if there is any further information you would like to have regarding the .sport initiative, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at my contact details noted below. You can also log on to our site: www.dotSportLLC.com to gain access to further updated information as it comes available.
Looking forward to seeing many of you again in Dubai at SportAccord but, for the rest, we wish you a pleasant spring...
Ronald N. Andruff
President & CEO
dotSport LLC
220 Fifth Avenue, 20th floor
New York, New York 10001
T: +1 212 481 2820 x 11
ra@dotSportLLC.com
www.dotsportllc.com
