Tiny island country could rake in 10% of its GDP in domain sales this year.
  • kadu@lemmy.worldEnglish
    812·
    1 year ago

    Top level domains have been a significant source of income for several countries for a while now.

    To be honest, even all these decades later, I’m still not happy with how everything became “.com” and that’s it

  • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
    422·
    1 year ago

    It’s always been a pet peeve of mine when TLDs get used for something other than their purpose. I get that countries have benefited from it, but that’s random chance and not what the system was set up for. I know this is a small thing to get annoyed about (so don’t take me too seriously) but if it were up to me, .ai domains should have to prove their connection to Anguilla.

    • Quokka@quokk.auEnglish
      14·
      1 year ago

      It’s always been a pet peeve of mine that domains are controlled and regulated by a handful of groups, with the users of them having no real say.

      Also we don’t need to split the Internet up into defined groups like companies, networks, and organisations.

      Open up domains.

    • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
      142·
      1 year ago

      That particular jurisdiction exists pretty unethically as well, which somewhat puts me off sites that use it.

        • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
          291·
          1 year ago

          The British Indian Ocean Territory was formed specifically to prevent the native inhabitants from gaining self-determination, allowing for a joint UK/US military base to be set up. The inhabitants were forcibly expelled in the 1960s, and ever since then the British government have taken active, sometimes deceptive, measures to prevent them from ever returning. You should look it up.

        • Telodzrum@lemmy.worldEnglish
          44·
          1 year ago

          I assume it’s an oblique reference to British Colonialism. Seems like an odd topic to attach so directly to British imperialism, but whatever.

          • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
            171·
            1 year ago

            It’s pretty bad even in the context of British Colonialism and notably recent.

            • Quokka@quokk.auEnglish
              5·
              1 year ago

              Damn looked into it, and in 2010 they were secretly planning on turning the entire area into a marine reserve to ensure the exiled people’s could never go back.

              • Mane25@feddit.ukEnglish
                2·
                1 year ago

                Yep, the strict marine reserve. But it doesn’t stop the military base from pumping sewage into it, and it doesn’t stop rich people with yachts from going there. Just normal people and Chagos islanders aren’t allowed. Also a difficult thing to note is that this was during a Labour government (which many liberal-minded British people consider a lesser of two evils). The only major politician who intended to do right there was Jeremy Corbyn, but he was slaughtered by the media for being not evil enough.

  • zxo@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    17·
    1 year ago

    I like seeing more uncommon TLDs be used that aren’t just .com, .org, or .net. Variety’s kinda cool.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    11·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Anguilla, a tiny British island territory in the Caribbean, may bring in up to $30 million in revenue this year thanks to its “.ai” domain name, reports Bloomberg in a piece published Thursday.

    $30 million from domains may not sound like a lot compared to the billions thrown around in AI these days, but with a total land area of 35 square miles and a population of 15,753, Anguilla isn’t complaining.

    Vince Cate, who has managed the “.ai” domain for Anguilla for decades, told Bloomberg that .ai registrations have effectively doubled in the past year.

    As a result, high-profile AI startups such as Stability.ai and Character.ai have opted for web addresses ending in “.ai,” contributing significantly to the island’s unexpected revenue stream.

    While some experts foresee a decline in the “AI gold rush” that may eventually cool the market for “.ai” domains, Bloomberg reports, the impact on Anguilla’s economy is already significant.

    With revenue from “.ai” domain registrations estimated to be a notable percentage of the territory’s gross domestic product ($300 million in 2021), Anguilla is a case study of how even a small Caribbean island can benefit from a global tech boom.

    The original article contains 409 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 53%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!