Would you attend a conference with Jim Messina, responsible for the Organization For Action domain fiasco, as Keynote Speaker?

A press release from FairWinds Partners announced the Beyond the Dot 2014 new top-level domain conference that is going to be held on February 19, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Would you attend a new gTLD conference with Jim Messina, responsible for the Organization For Action domain name fiasco, as Keynote Speaker? I wouldn’t…

Mr. Jim Messina may have all the talent and experience in the world but I know at least one thing he has no idea about: domain names.

He is responsible that the Organizing for Action (OFA), a nonprofit social welfare organization and community organizing project in the United States which advocates for the agenda of U.S. President Barack Obama, doesn’t have a domain name to host it’s website.

The formation of Organizing for Action was announced by Chairman Jim Messina, who served as Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, and First Lady Michelle Obama on January 18, 2013.

The non profit organization failed to purchase any of it’s domain names before the news about the group were announced on January 18th. The result is that most of the domains were registered by other individuals and companies on the same date.

They failed to get domain names such as OrganizingForAction.com and OrganizingForAction.org, that both now promote First Amendment protected free speech, for which they had a failed UDRP complaint. They also failed to get the domain name OrganizingForAction.net that redirects to the NRA website for which they also had a failed UDRP complaint.

This was probably the number one DOMAIN NAME FAIL of 2013.

OFA currently uses a URL inside BarackObama.com: https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/organizing-for-action/.

(Thanks to Aaron Strong for the tip.)

If you are still interested here is the FairWinds Partners press release:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Today you use .COM.  But what will you use tomorrow? Come to the Beyond the Dot 2014 new top-level domain conference February 19, 2014, at the Newseum to find out. Learn more or register for Beyond the Dot 2014 here.

Dramatic Change
The online world is undergoing a domain-name revolution that will change Internet behavior, provide consumers greater choice, offer more secure online experiences, encourage innovation, and lead to new ways of doing business.

How will all this work? Now, 22 web address extensions – the text to the right of the dot – are in common use, such as .COM, .NET and .EDU. These suffixes are known as generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Over the next few years, 1,400 more top-level domains will join the Internet, increasing by 2,500 percent the number of extensions that will anchor tens of millions of new websites.

Learn What it Means For You
In preparation for this revolution, FairWinds Partners, a strategic Internet consultancy, is organizing the Beyond the Dot 2014 conference – the first new gTLD conference to explore how the domain name revolution will affect Internet users. We also created a microsite – BeyondtheDot.com – to educate the public about the expansion of the top-level domain space and how it will affect their online behavior.

gTLD Stats
New top-level domains are ready for primetime.  Already, 100 are live, and within weeks a handful will be open for public registration. Google and Amazon applied for 98 and 76 gTLDs respectively and they didn’t get to the top of the heap by investing in bad ideas. As soon as one new gTLD becomes popular, the concept will catch on as the Next Big Thing.

Education
New gTLDs are now reality. For them to succeed, public education is key. The Beyond the Dot 2014 conference will put these Internet changes into context for brands, professional service companies, and individuals. BeyondtheDot.com will help average Internet users sort through the chaos and understand the changes and their  implications, benefits, and risks.

FairWinds Partners
FairWinds has more brand applicants for new top-level domains than any other firm. Take a whirl through BeyondtheDot.com, let us know what you think, and share it among your colleagues, friends, and family so they too will understand the seismic nature of the coming Internet expansion.