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Registrar Connections
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April 2007
In this issue:
Have you seen www.verisign.tv?
On April 16, www.verisign.tv was launched as a VeriSign showcase
where customers and non-customers alike can view the multi-dimensional
and varied VeriSign products offered to support the rich media landscape. The
VeriSign sales team will also leverage the showcase site to provide real
time, hands-on demonstrations of the new technologies to interested
customers. It will serve as a clear and effective illustration to support
product presentations, specifically when discussing our Intelligent Content
Delivery Network.
www.verisign.tv will also spotlight completed projects
for existing customers like AOL and Deal or No Deal. To learn more visit
the site today. www.verisign.tv.
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Account Consolidation Registrar
Checklist
In preparation for the Account Consolidation, it is
important that all Registrars perform the steps listed below, before
April 28. This is a repeat reminder of the alert previously issued by
Customer Service to all our registrars.
- Log into .com/.net and Name Store OT&E EPP
gateways before April 28, and ensure that your client application is
regression tested so that normal business is not impacted. We recommend
that you especially test the RENEW and INFO commands due to the XML
Parser Update (RENEW) and the INFO changes (addition of Created/Updated
by fields).
- Created/Updated by Field (INFO) -- These fields
are only returned to the Sponsoring Registrar, and display the User
Logon name that created/last updated the domain.
- For .com/.net Registrars: We recommend that you
take an outage with us to ensure your .com/.net client is updated to
handle GURID as the new identifier for transfer notification poll messages
in place of the Logon name.
- GURID change Note -- The GURID is now returned
in the Transfer Poll message to Gaining/Losing Registrar upon transfer
request in place of the Registrar Logon Name, and please note that upon
ACK/NACK/Auto ACK/Cancel that the GURID is NOT returned. Upon any of
the Transfer actions listed the User Logon Name that performed the action
will be returned.
- For Name Store Registrars: Prepare your Name
Store Account for April 28 by performing the following:
- Prior to April 28th -- Update Name Store User PW to match that of Com/Net PW
to avoid login problem.
- On April 29 -- Log into the Name Store Manager
GUI and perform the following:
- Confirm your Account address info is correct
- Confirm your contacts are valid
- Confirm all of your users are present, and enable
the .com/.net products to those users that should have access.
- Confirm your Email Notifications are valid
- Confirm your subnets and SSL common name is valid
- Confirm your Bill To Contact is correct
- Confirm your Finance details are correct (Available
Credit, etc…)
- Create new Users if needed!
Call Customer Service for assistance regarding any
of the above information at 703-925-6999 or email info@verisign-grs.com.
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Asia Registrar Days This Month
Our Registrar Day: Asia is happening this month:
- Seoul, Korea on April 24
- Beijing, China on April 26
The one-day event in each location is designed for
registrar executives with responsibility for strategy, marketing and
the general business. This event is an excellent opportunity for registrars
to learn about the latest data and information around the trends, research,
products and services affecting our industry and how to maximize the
benefits to their business. To learn more, go to www.verisign.com/registrardays.
Planned Topics
- State of the Domain Name Industry - Learn about the current
trends in the domain name industry highlighting growth opportunities
and key performance indicators.
- Domain Name Research Findings from Businesses and Consumers
- Expand your understanding of the domain name market in China or Korea
as we share the findings from our just completed market research study
of businesses and consumers in China and Korea. The research will offer
current awareness and perceptions of domain names, purchase intent and
messaging as well as the dynamics of relevant consumer behavior on the
Internet such as participation in social networks
- Internet Profile Service - In this session, the VeriSign team
will present our exciting new service: The Internet Profile Service.
This service maintains an updated categorization and classification
of new and existing domain name registration on a scheduled basis. For
a registrar, this means you may determine for what purposes your registrant/reseller domain
name registrations are being sought out and identify domain name registrations
that, while they are published in the zone, actually do not resolve.
Having this type of important, in-depth information allows you to make
smart business decisions. The data is also a highly useful tool for your
marketing, sales and research teams to quickly analyze industry verticals
to identify new entrants as their web sites begin to resolve on the
online world. We invite you to be part of this new VeriSign Service
offering and to learn more about Internet Profile Service and what it
can do to maximize your business.
- IDN Growth Trends, Market Opportunities & Product Updates - We will provide the latest analysis on the global growth
trend of IDNs including .com and .net for the past 2 years, and where
the growth has come from, by region and by various types of TLDs offering
IDNs. Along with the ever increasing adoption of IDN-aware Internet
Explorer 7 browser since it has been released last November 2006, we will
also present insightful data on how actively IDNs are being adopted and
used in association with live Web sites, plus critical updates on the
IDN product roadmap and on-going standardization efforts in ICANN and
IETF.
- Technology Overview - In this timely technology overview session,
you will get an insider's glimpse into the recent past, present and
future of VeriSign engineering development strategy, provided by VeriSign
.com/.net Engineering Manager. Following a review of our progress since
last year's Asia Registrar Day, we will offer an in-depth preview of
the upcoming .com/.net SRS 7.0 release and the powerful new capabilities
it provides - featuring integration of .com/.net and Name Store functionality.
You will learn more about the integration of .com/.net and Name Store
accounts, users, contacts, credit limits, account balances, and security
privileges and how these enhancements will simplify your operations.
Finally, we will discuss the future, including Project Titan - VeriSign's
global initiative to support explosive growth in Internet transactions
and user demand, while simultaneously providing world-class security.
If you want to understand VeriSign’s technology plans and get an opportunity
to ask your questions directly, this is the presentation for you.
- .com, .net, and Your Business - This session will highlight .com
and .net registration trends with special insight into growth by geographic
region and the Pay Per Click (PPC) business. We will also focus on customer acquisition
and retention tools and metrics with a discussion of renewal statistics,
registrar scorecards and the introduction of the Customer Support Knowledge
Base. Finally, we will discuss the power of Name Suggestion, and the benefits
of our proposed Rapid Zone Update service.
This event is designed for registrar professionals
with responsibility for business and product strategy, marketing and
sales development, new product development and anyone tasked with improving
the overall business performance of their companies.
For additional information, please go to www.verisign.com/registrardays
or send an email to namingmarketing@verisign.com.
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The multi-billion dollar e-recruitment sector continues
to build momentum for .JOBS as more companies realize the importance
of a straightforward, easy-to-find recruitment site on the Internet.
CareerBuilder®, the leader in online job search sites, was quick to understand
and embrace the concept and created a bundled hosting package that leverages
the power of the .JOBS message. The package provides organizations
with the .jobs brand and a multi-page company profile to draw quality
candidates to their open positions. Early adopters include www.princeton.jobs, www.grandhomes.jobs,
and www.vtgriffin.jobs.
More recently, NAS Recruitment Services (www.nasrecruitment.com),
the premier recruitment ad placement agency in the US, has aggressively
contacted its clients recommending placement of the .JOBS URL in all
their recruitment advertising. NAS clients jumping on board include www.wendys.jobs, www.coors.jobs,
and www.flyeagle.jobs.
By leveraging the strength of major online market
players, .JOBS is executing its mission to provide practical solutions
to meet the hiring needs of recruiters. As employers continue
to advertise, .JOBS also continues to achieve greater awareness across
the broader population of job seekers.
To find out how you can add .JOBS to your TLD product
inventory and receive marketing support, please send an email to NamingMarketing@verisign.com.
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Brazil counts 32.1 million
Internet users in the country
For registrars considering expanding internationally,
it may be interesting to read some highlights from a recently published
report by the Brazil government based on their findings from an extensive
survey on Web access.
This survey indicates that 21 percent or 32.1 million
of the population over 10 years old have had access to the Internet
at least once, through a PC, regardless of the location – home, work,
school or university, public places with free or paid access. The study,
conducted by Brazil Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in
partnership with the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br),
also shows that income, education and age are clearly factored in to
determine Internet access.
Among the 32.1 million users who accessed the Web
in 2005, half were men (16.2 million), within the 30 to 39 year-old
range (5.8 million), 13.9 million were students, 20 million were actively
working and 4.2 million of those were involved in some kind of administrative
or office job.
According to the research, on average, Internet users
in Brazil are 28 years old, have an education background of over 10
years of study, and a monthly income of R$1,000 per capita. In terms
of connectivity, dial up access is still larger than broadband access.
Considered a country with continental dimensions,
Brazil shows significant regional differences in culture, life style
and economic activities. The most developed southern and southeastern
regions have higher Internet penetration rates (26 percent) while 12
percent is the penetration rate for the less developed northern and
northeastern regions.
Brazil is definitely a growing Internet space, the
largest in Latin America. VeriSign will continue to closely monitor
information emanating from this region to share with our registrar community.
To read the English version of the report, go to http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/ or
you may also contact ibge@ibge.gov.br.
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VeriSign Naming Services Staff
Spotlight: Hui Griffiths
Hui Griffith is a
senior manager in our product development department. She has responsibility
over a number of developers, ensuring that all their program and software
designs meet the VeriSign quality standard and production schedule.
All her projects are tied-in directly with the Naming account and product
managers’ business and client needs, striving to add new or to enhance
existing capabilities. Some of her well-known projects were Core 6.0,
Name Suggestion, Consolidated TLD 1.0 and Core 7.0 to name a few.
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Before joining VeriSign, Hui was a software architect
and technical lead in the telecom industry, working for Qwest and later,
MCI. She was also a director of product operations and led the development
team at e-Security, Inc.
Hui beams when she describes her typical day. “It’s
very busy and packed with meetings, prioritization tasks, production
support for the customer service group and operations team, QA and deployment
updates; but it’s not overwhelming at all because I love the work and
have a great team!”
And this passion for technology is what stopped Hui
from pursuing her other interest: fashion. Among her family and
friends, Hui is the official fashion consultant providing expert advice
on both their wardrobe dilemmas and interior design quandaries. Her
coffee table at home is proof of Hui’s “double life” as two stacks of
must-read publications show. One side has Optimize, Dr. Dobb’s, Information
Week and Red Herring. The other has W’s Style Magazine, Giant: the ultimate
entertainment magazine, Allure and Vogue. And when you don’t find Hui
working on technology or fashion, you’ll surely catch her jogging, or
playing tennis or sailing!
What are her final thoughts on VeriSign? Hui exclaims,
“I love the challenge of my job and feel extremely privileged to work
with a high-caliber talented team as we develop and manage the core
infrastructure of the Internet. Opportunity like this only exists at
VeriSign!”
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Customer Service:
Frequently Asked Questions
This section includes some recent questions handled
by the Customer Service group. The topics for this issue include: GURID
for OTE accounts, explicit renewal commands and COM/NET domain name
price adjustment.
Question: Are my GURID for OTE accounts the same as my Production
account?
Answer: No. Different GURIDs are assigned for OTE accounts.
If you would like to know your GURID for OTE accounts, please contact
Verisign Customer Support. The production GURID information is available
at http://www.iana.org/assignments/registrar-ids
.
Question: My explicit renewal commands are failing with command
syntax errors in Com/Net OT&E. Why is this?
Answer: Please confirm that you are no longer passing the time
stamp with your command, you should only pass the date with the renewal
command.
Question: What will be the .com/.net domain name fee after
October 15, 2007?
Answer: As of October 15, 2007, the registry fee for each
annual increment of a new or renewal .com domain name registration will
be US $6.42 and the registry fee for each annual increment of a new
or renewal .net domain name registration will be US $3.85. (Note:
VeriSign will continue to assess the US $0.75 ICANN fee for each new
and renewal .net domain name registration and for each transfer of a
.net domain name registration.)
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Special Report on Technology
from eMarketer: Brand Marketers Latch Onto Social Networks
Nearly half of brand marketers plan to use social
networking in their campaigns during the next year, according to a new
report by JupiterResearch.
That is up from the previous year, when 38% of brand
marketers said they had such plans.
Emily Riley of Jupiter noted that friends' brand mentions
hold a lot more weight than standard ads, which is what attracts marketers
to social networks.
Only 10% of frequent social networkers trust ads when
making a major purchase decision, but 30% trust their peers' opinions,"
said Ms. Riley. "Brand marketers must harness brand advocates and
influentials by providing additional motivation for frequent networkers
to engage in social marketing."
Brand marketers were also urged to target interests
and activities that attract frequent networkers, and earn trust by mastering
social networking flow.
As people figure out that they can be sponsored in
their social networking activity, look for increased competition for
attention.
Having 5,000 friends on MySpace might start to mean
something after all.
To read the full report, please contact Jennifer Moore at 212.763.6046
or send an email to jmoore@emarketer.com.
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In the News
This section contains a selection of articles pertaining
to the Domain Name Industry compiled by Information, Inc.
"ICANN Conference Bears Much Fruit"
eWeek
(12/08/06); Prince, Brian
ICANN's fruitful Brazil meeting ended on Dec. 8, 2006,
with a cornucopia of accomplishments: approving a new .asia domain name,
launching a new ICANN Regional At-Large Organization, signing three
gTLD registry agreements, and agreeing on a three-year strategic plan
for ICANN. ICANN's three-year plan includes broadening international
participation in ICANN, launching international domain names (IDNs),
and improving IANA functioning. The strategic plan also calls for periodic
independent reviews of ICANN functions in an effort to increase agency
transparency. The new ICANN Regional At-Large Organization will represent
Latin America and the Caribbean. It will include 22 regional user groups
who will work to present a regional consensus on various issues to ICANN.
ICANN also approved new registry agreements for .biz, .info, and .org--agreements
that included a 10 percent price-hike limit on those domains.
(http://www.eweek.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=195969,00.asp)
"As Candidates Mull '08, Web Sites Are Already Running"
New York
Times (11/18/06) P. A13; Friess, Steve
Just about every conceivable variance of a presidential
ticket for the 2008 race has been registered in the guise of a domain
name, some by cybersquatters and domain speculators, some by supporters
or opponents of those tickets, and some--though experts argue not enough--by
the politicians themselves. "Candidates aren't thinking enough
in advance," says Michael Bassik of MSHC Partners, which has overseen
online strategy for Senator-elect Bob Casey in Pennsylvania and other
Democrats. "It's surprising that candidates that have already expressed
an interest in 2008 haven't purchased the domains that would be related
to it." On the legal side, the World Intellectual Property Organization
and U.S. courts have been mixed when it comes to challenging the rights
of anyone to register a domain name resembling a person whose name has
not been trademarked for fear of encroaching on free speech statutes.
A WIPO arbitrator last year did side with Hillary Clinton's staff in
ruling that the politician had a right to hillaryclinton.com, which
had been registered by a woman from Italy in 2001, arguing that the
registration was made in bad faith with the intent to misdirect traffic.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/us/politics/18domain.html?ex=1321506000&en=a85d88157ddf90dd&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)
"More Elbow Room on the Net"
BusinessWeek
(11/06/06)No. 4008, P. 84; Kopecki, Dawn
Facing the prospect that all possible IP addresses
will be used up in five years, the deployment of IPv6 is finally getting
underway in the United States thanks to a big push from the federal
government. The move to IPv6 is already underway in China and the rest
of Asia, and the need to stay abreast technologically is fueling the
switch, which will offer the potential to assign an IP address to every
digital device in the world, from weapon systems to kitchen appliances.
IPv6 also offers significant security advantages over IPv4 since security
measures such as encryption and authentication are built-in to the protocol.
By next spring, the General Services Administration plans to award contracts
totaling $125 billion to overhaul the government's phone and IT infrastructure,
although it faces funding competition from the Iraq war. "Some
of the operational folks are having to make some tough decisions, like
supporting today's war fighter by buying a tank...or supporting the
transition to IPv6," says a senior Defense Department official.
Although the upgrade could open up huge new markets, Internet service
providers are not very eager to spend the required money to tweak all
their hardware and software and retrain their tech staff. The general
market shows little demand for the upgrade at this point, so network
equipment companies have made little progress. Military concerns are
at the front of the initiative right now, but down the road hardware
and service giants such as Verizon, Cisco Systems, and Hewlett-Packard
stand to benefit the most from the upgrade. Cisco's Gerald T. Charles
Jr. says the company's full line is now IPv6 compatible. "You're
going to get to a point where you need to be IPv6-capable, or you're
going to be left behind," he explains.
(http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_45/b4008080.htm)
© Copyright 2006 Information,
Inc.
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