On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 12:23 PM, Evan Leibovitch <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > On 6 July 2012 09:46, Adam Peake <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> Why so few applications from developing countries? Possibly lack of >> outreach, lack of general awareness of the new gTLD program in developing >> countries. Lack of awareness of the domain name market (but there are quite >> a few domain name resellers) If people didn't know about the program, then >> they couldn't have ideas. Plenty of innovation in developing markets. And >> VC funds. Why do few applications is something a few people think needs >> studying. > > > It continues to surprise that people inside the ICANN bubble are either > missing, or deliberately avoiding, one of the obvious possibilities -- that > there is simply no demand. Certainly, ccTLDs in developing countries -- in > fact, also in most of the developed ones -- are far from capacity. How many > domains does an Internet content provider need? > > Not everyone sees private ownership of common words as "innovation". And > perhaps in the developing world, starting businesses whose core revenue > models are dependent upon fear and speculation is considered an unaffordable > luxury. > > This may not be the only reason -- the outreach program was certainly > pathetic, though it attracted not one but two applications for .africa -- one actually and one for .DotAfrica. a clever way to avoid name collision. In general, I agree with you and Milton, tho would have been happy if more/better outreach had been done. There is always room for capacity building on these issues in the developing world. -- Cheers, McTim "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates how we get there." Jon Postel