Yvette Miller ⬥ 28 January
Hopefully you all survived the great Google outage on Friday with minimal damage: Unfortunately, Google’s Site Engineering Reliability Team was conducting a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” chat at the time of the outage and took a reputational hit as participants ragged on the team’s the poorly timed chat. For the most part, it seems, the only profound impact for Internet users was the reminder of how much of their “net worth” (ha) is tied up with the tech giant.
This week, we’re looking forward to finding out what other people think about the state of the Internet at the State of the Net conference on Tuesday, January 28 in Washington, D.C. The event, which focuses on tech policy, should have plenty to talk about, especially since an already crowded field of Internet governance groups will have to welcome yet another. The Global Commission on Internet Governance, founded by Carl Bildt, Sweden’s foreign minister, was announced at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, January 22.
The State of the Net conference agenda is light on one of the major Internet issues of 2014 – the introduction of new gTLDs, which recently hit a major milestone with 100 new gTLDs now incorporated into the technical foundation of the Internet. For a robust agenda on new gTLDs, check out the 2014 Beyond the Dot Conference on February 19.
For Your Radar
The 2014 Beyond the Dot Conference will be held at the Newseum on February 19. The event will bring together policymakers, corporations, non-profits, government officials, and average Internet users to explore and discuss a different side of new gTLDs – specifically, what they will mean to all Internet users and how they will change the way that we approach Internet navigation, commerce, and other topics.
The International Trademark Association (INTA) will hold a series of roundtables from January 21 – January 31, covering the gTLD registration process and how it can be used to protect brands online. FairWinds’ Counsel Steve Levy will lead a January 29 roundtable in Philadelphia on new generic top-level domains (gTLD).
January 24: First Donuts’ Sunrise Periods End
January 2014: ICANN Sends out Notifications of Intent for Auctions (Expected)
March 2014: First ICANN Auctions Begin (Expected)
March 23-27: ICANN 49 Singapore
Public Comment Periods:
Jan 31: Comment period closes on ICANN’s Draft Vision, Mission & Focus Areas for a Five-Year Strategic Plan
Feb 21: Comment period closes on ICANN’s Second Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT 2) Final Report & Recommendations
Be sure to stay posted to this site and follow us on Twitter for the latest in the domain name space.