Program helps students register their first domain name and create a web presence.
When I started college in the mid-1990s, the web was really just getting off the ground. Websites contained lots of silly things, and most of us non-techies designed them using software like Frontpage or HotDog. Oh, and I had to dial-in to internet service.
Email and webhosting were nascent. The university offered us an email address at the mail.utexas.edu domain name, and we could also using hosting space on the university’s servers. A typical address was something like web.utexas.edu/˜network/collegename/yourname/files/index.html. When you left the university, your email address and hosting were deleted.
A lot has happened since then. Yet colleges still offer many short-term internet services to students. Which is why a program at University of Mary Washington in Virgina stands out.
The program, which I first heard about in this 2014 trends post, is called A Domain of One’s Own. (Yes, the program site is on a .domains domain name.)
A Domain of One’s Own helps students, faculty and staff register a domain name of their own and then associate it with hosting space managed by the school. They can also use it for third party services like Tumblr. Importantly, students can take the the domain and content with them when they leave.
The program has helped students register and use over 1,000 domain names so far.
According to Audrey Watters at HackEducation, similar programs are being started at other universities.
This is an interesting concept, and I think it presents a great opportunity for new top level domain name companies. For many students, the site they create in college is their first. It will stay with them. Why not work with a university to offer your TLD free for year?
Drake says
Oh no poor student offers…
Kassey says
This trend is natural. We all want to have our ‘home’ in the virtual world. We are getting more and more digital assets that we must store somewhere. For individuals etc. there is no need to use .com except when you want to go global. A low-cost domain name complete with easy-to-use website development/maintenance tools is what most people want.