18(a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD

Prototypical answer:

MISSION AND PURPOSE:

The internet has metamorphosized the way that people across the globe communicate – whether it is to share their experiences, to announce developments in their lives or to simply keep in touch with others across the world. And this includes how they share updates on their children with others over the web.

The mission of the .baby gTLD is to provide internet users with a web location to showcase the lives of their children – where parents, family & friends can capture and share all of the important moments in their babiesʹ lives.

An AVG research study(^1) across 10 countries revealed that 81% of children under the age of 2 had an online presence in one way or another – ranging from pictures, to email addresses and even social network profiles. Close to 23% children actually begin their digital lives with pre-natal sonogram scans being posted online.

The purpose of the .baby TLD is to give parents the ability to put everything that they want to share and document about their children’s lives, at a web URL that is meant to showcase their journey.

Documenting and recording the important moments in a baby’s life is not something new. Baby books and scrapbooks have been around for ages. With the increased use of the internet though, more and more parents are looking to the internet to share details of their babies’ lives. 79% of those aged 25 – 44 use the internet in the US (Source: Census Bureau), spending an average of 37 hours online per month (Source: ComScore(^2)). Internet users in the US spent 23% of their time on social networks (Source: Nielsen Report(^3))sharing and communicating with family and friends. .Baby thus seems like a natural fit for this audience, giving them a unique & differentiated destination that they could use as a baby book online.

Internet users send out updates across fragmented online channels including social networks, online albums, video streaming sites, blogs, tweets etc. – the idea is to give those that want to share the story of their babies, a place to consolidate everything– a web URL that is meant to be their baby chronicle, something to look back at, and cherish.

Other than the basic baby care essentials, parents today are indulging in quality products for their children– right from designer apparel, expensive gadgets, baby furniture to high-end toys. Spending on childrenʹs clothing is expected to touch $156.8 billion by 2015, with a significant rise seen on high-end brands for infants & toddlers (Source: Global Industry Analysts Inc.(^4)). The global toy market is estimated at $80 billion (Toy Industry Association (^5)) with North America & Europe accounting for 58% of the total market – reinstating the fact that parents indulge in making things special for their children.

The .baby TLD is expected to add that special element– something that parents hand down to their children as a memoir of their lives and a property owned on the web that is exclusively for their child. The Mission and purpose of our TLD is also to contribute to the Internet Namespace in the following ways:

1.1 ENHANCE REGISTRANT CHOICE

Due to the saturated nature of the existing gTLD space, many Internet users have to opt for a name that does not suit their needs best. Our Registry will provide Registrants a higher probability of obtaining their desired name.

1.2 CREATE A CLEANER INTERNET SPACE

To create a cleaner internet experience for end users by implementing pioneering registration policies, content and usage policies, and abuse mitigation processes.

1.3 CREATE A STABLE AND RESILIENT INTERNET SPACE

To deliver a stable and resilient internet experience to registrants and end-users by going above and beyond the ICANN mandated SLAs and delivering 100% resolution uptime

References:

* (^1)http:⁄⁄mashable.com⁄2010⁄10⁄07⁄toddlers-online-presence⁄ and http:⁄⁄www.businesswire.com⁄news⁄home⁄20101006006722⁄en⁄Digital-Birth-Online-World

* (^2) http:⁄⁄www.comscoredatamine.com⁄2011⁄01⁄average-time-spent-online-per-u-s-visitor-in-2010⁄

* (^3)http:⁄⁄blog.nielsen.com⁄nielsenwire⁄social⁄

* (^4)http:⁄⁄www.prweb.com⁄releases⁄childrens_wear⁄infant_toddler_kids_wear⁄prweb8061559.htm

* (^5) http:⁄⁄www.toyassociation.org⁄AM⁄PDFs⁄Trends⁄ToyMarkets10.pdf

This completes our response to Q18(a).

Similar gTLD applications: (0)