Geodomain

The term geodomain refers to domain names that are the same as those of geographic entities, such as cities and countries. Examples of geodomains are Atlanta.com, LosAngeles.com, Texas.com and Memphis.org. Since geographical names are limited in number, and have instant name recognition, geodomains are highly valued, with .com extension geodomains valued the most highly. Geodomains tend to provide a virtual representation of the locations they serve-- for example, Hawaii.com is heavily tourism focused, while Syracuse.com and Madison.com have more local content. Collectively, geographic domain names are estimated to represent approximately over 500 million dollars a year in gross hotel bookings alone, and are a rising force in the Internet.

Associated Cities

Associated Cities is a trade association founded in 2003. Its membership is limited to sites operating at the .com versions of city names. The association has more than 100 members and holds an annual event called the "Geodomain Expo." The 2007 expo was held November 16 and 17 in San Francisco and featured an auction of domain names.Fact|date=June 2008

ee also

* GeoTLD

External links

* [http://www.associatedcities.com Associated Cities, an industry group of geodomain owners]
* [http://www.boulevards.com Boulevards, a network of city sites established in 1994]
* [http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/060116thompson/ "City dot-coms still waiting to strike it rich" article]
* [http://www.dnjournal.com/cover/2006/december.htm "Band of Brothers: How Michael and David Castello Morphed from Struggling Musicians to Domain Millionaires"]
* [http://washingtonstate.mobi WashingtonState.mobi mobile guide to Washington State, cities, towns, popular destination mobisites, and other .mobi geodomains around the US and Europe]