CNET reports that Google sent a letter to ICANN last week about its intentions for the gTLDs it had applied for. Most of the letter is spent dispelling the fear that new gTLDs will stifle competition on the Internet by giving Internet giants like Google a distinct advantage on the Web over smaller startups and competitors. The most interesting part of the letter, however, is this one paragraph:

After careful analysis, Google has identified four of our current single registrant applications that we will revise: .app, .blog, .cloud and .search. These terms have been identified by governments (via Early Warning) and others within the community as being potentially valuable and useful to industry as a whole. We also believe that for each of these terms we can create a strong set of user experiences and expectations without restricting the string to use with Google products.

What this means is that Google recognizes some of the gTLDs it applied for would better serve the company if others could use them. In a report from last year, it was presumed that Google would be saving the above gTLDs for its own products, or perhaps leasing them out only to certain partners. This new revelation from Google seems to indicate that the company is willing to open these domains to the public.

Of course, it should be noted that Google does not own these domains yet. Other companies, like Amazon, has also applied for many of these same gTLDs. That being said, Google is planning to do something with these domains if it can obtain them. The question now is what that something is.

Most seem to think that Google will use these domains to enter the lucrative domain registrar business. Such a move would put Google in direct competition with Go Daddy and others offering similar services. With domains like .soy and .fun potentially on offer, who wouldn’t want to register through Google?

On June 22, ICANN announced that Fadi Chehadé was to become the next CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Since the announcement, it was expected that Chehadé would take on the role of CEO starting October 1. That’s why it’s a surprise that he has announced his rise to the position of CEO starting today. He relieves Akram Attalah of his duties as interim CEO who will now return to his prior position as COO.

“I have spent the past two months asking myself and many others from all over the Internet community worldwide the same questions,” said Chehadé. “How can ICANN work better with its stakeholders to bring all interested parties to the table to debate and agree how to improve the DNS? How can we ensure that all global citizens can share an open Internet which is sustainable and resilient?”

Chehadé says that his plan puts stakeholders first. He will be amassing a team to help speed up Internet engagement across the world. He will also be expanding the roles of his key officers to help oversee the new initiatives from ICANN including the creation of multiple new gTLDs.

ICANN will also be establishing many of its top brass in European regions to help “strengthen ICANN’s international engagement at all levels.” This includes Tarek Kamel, senior adviser to the CEO, who will be in charge of developing an effective strategy to boost Internet penetration in Africa.

“I’ve spent the summer putting the right team in place – looking deep within ICANN and beyond to find the best mix of talents to help me to fulfill ICANN’s mission,” said Chehadé. “Frankly I am impressed and humbled by what these diverse leaders bring to the table. I’ve been fortunate to have great support from the ICANN Board as well as the staff and I know that we will be able to build upon the organization’s many achievements.”

He will also be making many other departments report directly to him. Most corporations would rather have a supervisor below them to take care of the smaller details, but it looks like Chehadé is up for the challenge. Here’s hoping the new management can help prevent more incidents like those that plagued the gTLD registrations earlier this year.

The Register reports that the US Department of Commerce has agreed to extend ICANN’s rule over the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority for the next three to seven years. The news was confirmed by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration last night. The most important part of the deal is that ICANN has retained the power to add and remove top-level domains as they see fit.

The retention of that power is essential as ICANN recently hosted the largest digital land grab in history with companies from all over the world paying to own various generic top-level domains, or gTLDs. Companies like Google and Amazon applied for scores of domains to either use for their own purproses or lease out for individuals to run Web sites with the .soy domain.

All of this doesn’t means that ICANN is free to as they wish with the entirety of the Internet like they used to. The NTIA published a press release that details the new regulations that ICANN must adhere as the overlord of the IANA.

Based on input from the global community, NTIA added new requirements. Those include a clear separation between the policy development associated with the IANA services, and implementation by the IANA functions contractor; a robust company-wide conflict of interest policy; a heightened respect for local national law; and a series of consultation and reporting requirements to increase transparency and accountability.

While some may not like ICANN’s approach to ruling the Internet, they are not alone. They have to work with multiple stakeholders from around the world to actually get anything done. It’s the kind of approach that has worked well for the Internet and maintains a level of equality for all who wish to surf the Web (local governments blocking access to sites notwithstanding).

Besides, if you don’t like ICANN, you can at least agree that it’s better than the UN controlling it. Here’s hoping ICANN can keep it that way when the UN meets later this year to discuss a possible take over of the Internet.

CNET has dug up Google’s plans for its gTLD applications and it’s pretty surprising. It would appear that Google wants to offer up many of the domains it has applied for to the public. In that sense, Google would become a competitor to Go Daddy by selling the domains to places like .book and .shop.

It makes sense for Google to walk this path when the other tech companies did not. Offering domains allows Google to have its hand in one more of the Internet’s cookie jars. Whereas Apple and Microsoft just want to have domains for their own personal use, Google is on track to becoming everything to everyone. Offering domains is just the next step in this strategy.

As you can see in this excellent graphic from CNET’s James Martin, Google will be offering some domains to everybody, some to select parties and reserving the rest for its own internal operations:

We can ignore the Google only domains for now because it’s pretty obvious what they’re going to be used for. It’s far more interesting to speculate on the domains that will be used by all or select parties. Starting with the domains that will be leased out to anybody, it’s interesting to note that Google is offering things like .book and .buy while domains like .music and .movie will only be offered to some.

Using the specific examples of .music and .movie, more than just professional studios offer these services. When Google is willing to allow anybody to register a domain of .book for their newest novel, but requires something else for anybody interested in using .music; it’s causes a little concern. Will Google allow an independent artist to register a .music domain, or do they have to be signed with a major label to gain access?

The ICANN gTLD registry has the amazing potential to open the Web to more targeted domains that make it easier for people to find what they want. If Google wants to get in the business of offering their domains to the public, that’s fine. They should not, however, allow for abuse on either side. Independent artists and businesses have just as much a right to domains like .movie and .car that the major players in these businesses do. Here’s hoping Google is less than stingy with their domains.

It’s important to note that Google might not end up with even half of these domains. Many of them were applied for by multiple parties and it’s up to ICANN to decide who gets them. Most of the domains could end up in another party’s hands. It’s still pretty wild to consider that Google could one day be the steward of such powerful new domains like .film and .phd.

The news comes as no surprise since, Rod Beckstrom, their current president and CEO, recently announced he will not be standing for reelection at the end of his contract expiring on July 1st.

The introduction of their new president and CEO will take place at a news conference two days prior to ICANN’s 44th public meeting in Prague. Board Chairman Dr. Stephen Crocker will join Chief Operating Officer Akram Atallah and the next CEO in answering questions from journalists during the news conference. The event will be webcast live from the Czech capital.

The news conference will be on Friday, 22 June 2012, 1600-1700 Prague (1400-1500 GMT/UTC) at Room – Palmovka /Rokoska, Hilton Prague Hotel, Pobrezni 1 Prague, 186 00, Czech Republic.

A live video webcast may be accessed at http://icann.adobeconnect.com/prg44-press. Telephone access may be obtained by dialling an international toll-free number obtained from this list www.adigo.com/icann. The toll free access number in the U.S. is +1.800.550.6865. Once you have reached the conferencing center, dial 25594. It will be broadcast in English.

Demand Media’s story has been a pretty interesting one, having applied for 26 on a standalone basis, with the potential to acquire others from Donuts, thanks to a partnership between the two companies. The really interesting part about Demand Media’s applications, however, are the actual gTLDs they chose to apply for, particularly those related to the armed services and political parties. Such gTLDs include: .airforce, .army, .navy, .democrat and .republican. You can see the full list here.

It turns out that Demand Media’s choices were driven purely by data, much like other parts of the company’s business practices have been historically. Demand Media made a name for itself by producing content based on what data shows is in demand. Presumably, that’s where the company’s name comes from. Based on comments made by a spokesperson, Demand Media approached its gTLD application strategy in a very similar way.

Leyla Farah, speaking on behalf of Demand Media, talked to TheDomains.com, and explained the approach, when asked about the company’s choices to apply for gTLDs directly related to the armed services and political parties.

According to the site, Farah said: “Our entire portfolio of gTLD applications were all grounded in the same data-driven process. We analyzed all of the data we could find to determine which words people were consistently using to navigate through their digital world. Many of the most interesting words capture a universal sense of personal or professional identity, or are words that have come to define large and important ideas around the world. Ideas like ‘democrat’ and ‘army’ and ‘actor’ represent global, vibrant communities that naturally gravitate to one another using shared language and experiences. They are universal ideas that aren’t limited to any single entity like an armed service or political party in a single country — in fact they are often used generically (e.g., ‘Arnie’s Army’ etc.). Because of the universality and generic nature of of these words, there really aren’t grounds for objection by anyone.”

In other Demand Media news, the company’s President and CFO, Charles Hilliard is stepping down, while the company has reaffirmed its guidance for Q2.

We knew Demand Media had applied for some, but now, we know which ones, and the choices are interesting.

The company applied for 26, and for 16 of them, they were the only applicant. Here are those 16:

.actor
.airforce
.army
.dance
.democrat
.engineer
.gives
.immobilien
.kaufen
.moda
.navy
.ninja
.pub
.rehab
.republican
.social

“We are very pleased with today’s results. We selected our TLDs based on data-driven algorithms that leveraged our leading registrar and content platforms to determine what domains small businesses and consumers were demanding,” said Demand Media EVP Taryn Naidu. “We are excited about the market potential for each of our TLDs and look forward to the innovative new product offerings that will result from making these available to consumers.”

The ones Demand Media applied for that have multiple applicants are:

.bar
.cam
.fishing
.gay
.green
.map
.mom
.moto
.rip
.wow

These 26 domains are just the ones the company applied for on a stand-alone basis. Additionally, the company has an agreement with Donuts, through which it may acquire rights in certain other gTLDs, once they’ve been awarded to Donuts.

These rights, Demand Media says, are shared equally with Donuts and are associated with 107 gTLDs for which Donuts is the applicant. I won’t list them all here, but they include things like: .golf, .home, .hosting, .hot, .insurance, .investments, .law, .living and .media.

More on the Demand Media/Donuts partnership here.

Here’s the full list of domains that Google has applied for:

ADS
AND
ANDROID
APP
ARE
BABY
BLOG
BOO
BOOK
BUY
CAL
CAR
CHANNEL
CHROME
CLOUD
CORP
CPA
DAD
DAY
DCLK
DDS
DEV
DIY
DOCS
DOG
DOT
DRIVE
EARTH
EAT
ESQ
EST
FAMILY
FILM
FLY
FOO
FREE
FUN
FYI
GAME
GBIZ
GLE
GMAIL
GMBH
GOO
GOOG
GOOGLE
GUGE
HANGOUT
HERE
HOME
HOW
INC
ING
KID
LIVE
LLC
LLP
LOL
LOVE
MAIL
MAP
MBA
MED
MEME
MOM
MOTO
MOV
MOVIE
MUSIC
NEW
NEXUS
PAGE
PET
PHD
PLAY
PLUS
PROD
PROF
RSVP
SEARCH
SHOP
SHOW
SITE
SOY
SPOT
SRL
STORE
TALK
TEAM
TECH
TOUR
TUBE
VIP
WEB
WOW
YOU
YOUTUBE
ZIP
みんな (Everyone)
グーグル (Google)
谷歌 (Google)

The list is a little intimidating to be honest. It really does seem like Google has applied for just about everything that makes sense as well as a lot of things that make little to no sense. The obvious domains like .google and .gmail were guaranteed to show up. What’s up with the weird domains like .family, .mom and .baby? According to Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist, Vint Cerf, the strange domains were acquired because they have “interesting and creative potential.”

Another oddity is that Google applied for these domains under a company named Charleston Road Registry. Every other big tech company from Microsoft to Apple filed for domains using the company’s name. Was there a reason Google wanted to be different aside from just being different? We’ve reached out to Google and will update this story when he hear back.

For the time being though, it’s always fun to speculate on things that Google may be planning. It seems that Google may just be buying up domains to be prepared for anything. It’s a far cry from Apple who just applied for .apple and none of their products. Google applied for all of their major products and then some. Could these be future products in the pipeline at Google or are they just setting up domains just in case?

It’s also interesting to point out that Google was the only one who applied for a lot of these domains. Whereas domains like .music and .movie had multiple applicants, there were some domains that came out of left field like .soy and .dog. The domains just seem too specific and direct to be just random placeholders.

It will be interesting to see if any of these new domains pan out over the coming months and years once they go live. I personally can’t wait to see what Google does with .soy. I hope they get into the health food business.

Before we get into this, it’s important to understand what the gTLD is all about. The new system from ICANN allows businesses, or regular people if they have the cash, to apply for a new generic Top-Level Domain. This means that people will soon be able to access a site not only with .com or .net, but with a whole host of new domains like .microsoft or .apple, both of which were applied for by their respective companies.

Aside from Microsoft and Apple, Google obviously applied for .google, but also .goog. Other interesting company choices include .acer, .abc, .aol and .fire. The domain .fire is interesting because it was registered by Amazon presumably for its Kindle Fire device.

Speaking of Amazon, the company filed for 76 different gTLDs with the most obvious being .amazon. The company also filed for gTLDs covering numerous areas like .buy, .music, .mail and .author.

Google, filing its gTLDs under Charleston Road Registry, applied for over 101 domain names including .and, .android, .are, .baby, .blog, .book, .music, .fun, .game and .lol.

Microsoft applied for very little compared to the others with only a little over 10 gTLDs. These include .bing, .docs, .hotmail and .office.

As for Apple, they only applied for the one domain – .apple. It’s odd as I figured they would want to snag domains for .iphone or .ipad, maybe even .itunes. Nobody else grabbed those domains so at least Apple doesn’t have to worry about some Chinese company claiming to own .ipad.

Interestingly enough, .app was the most applied for gTLD. Thirteen different companies applied for the domain including Amazon, Google, multiple entities of Dot App, and other smaller companies.

One of the more interesting details of the new gTLD system is that ICANN is now allowing non-Roman alphabet domain names. This has led to many companies applying for domains in Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and Russian. While the majority of applications were for Roman alphabet domains, there were quite a number of foreign language applications with most being in Chinese.

Since I can only read Japanese (and not Chinese), let’s take a look at what companies like Amazon or Google are up to. Google applied for two Japanese domain names – みんな and グーグル. The first is “minna” in hiragana which means “everyone.” The second is just romaji for Google. Amazon applied for way more domains in Japanese with all of them being in Romaji. Some of the standouts include アマゾン which is Romaji for Amazon and ファッション, or fashion. Fashion is interesting as Amazon did not apply for the English equivalent.

You can find the full list of applications at the ICANN Web site. Check it out to catch a glimpse of what may be the future of the Internet. I for one welcome the arrival of the .pizza domain.

“We believe the new gTLD program represents a significant milestone in the evolution of the Internet,” said CEO Richard Rosenblatt. “In addition to delivering more choice for consumers and business owners, we expect the domain name expansion to spur innovation and new business opportunities.”

The company has applied for 26 names on a stand-alone basis. It has also partnered with Donuts Inc. so that it may acquire rights in certain gTLDs, after they’re awarded to Donuts by ICANN.

Demand Media tells WebProNews it will not comment further on specifics.

We did speak with Donuts Vice President of Communications and Industry Relations, Mason Cole, who told us, “If you look at the existing namespace, there are only 22 existing generic told level domains. There are hundreds of country coded TLDs, like .jp for Japan, and so on, but in the generic name space, it’s awfully constrained. It’s very hard to find a good Internet identity that a company, or a person, or a family, or a new product, or a cause of some kind can use to identify themselves and promote their interests on the web.”

Watch the video for the full interview:

Donuts CEO, Paul Stahura said, “As previously announced, Donuts has raised more than $100 million in funding to pursue the new gTLD opportunity. Donuts’ strategic arrangement with Demand Media takes us well beyond that $100 million funding and enables both companies to utilize additional resources, expertise and talent to generate the most value and benefits for customers from this historic opportunity.”

Last week, Donuts announced that it selected Demand Media Europe (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Demand Media), as its registry services provider.