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As
you all know
hundreds of new gTLDs
have been released over the past
year. Most of these new extensions
are popular keywords or locations
that anyone would recognize - things
like .news, .photos, .miami,
etc. One of the few that I
didn't know the meaning of
immediately was .desi,
so when I was in India in
August for the DomainX
conference I was intrigued to see a
.desi booth where the TLD's
Co-Founder, Sid Ohri, was
answering questions about the
extension.
I
learned that Sid has lived in the United
States (Washington D.C. area)
for 34 years, having moved here from
India with his brother back in 1981.
Sid's personal status is a
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.Desi
Co-Founder Sid Ohri at the
2015 DomainX Conference in Bangalore,
India
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perfect
example of what "desi"
is all about. He explained, "Desi
is derived from Sanskrit and refers
to the culture, people and products
originating from the Indian
sub-continent (India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, and
Sri Lanka). The term is
used affectionately by the South
Asian community to indicate a connection."
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Ohri
has a specific vision
of the role .desi can play
on the Internet. ".Desi
is a platform for communication
it is a way for people
to make their statement, to
do and accomplish things
that they were not able to
do before," Ohri said.
"Currently, there is no
clear platform to unite
the desi community. This is
where .desi comes in as
a way to involve groups of
people |
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from
our extended community that
may already have an online
presence, but are not
connected to each other." |
"Through
the .desi community, we are hoping
to promote real sustained growth for
desi-focused businesses and
organizations around the world
whether the goal is to find the
local desi grocery store; to help
desi businesses in the subcontinent
get with the e-commerce revolution;
or get that desi blogger showcase
her brand to desis around the
world."
With
its broader scope, Ohri
thinks .desi offers a versatile
alternative to the region's local
country codes, like India's
well-known .in ccTLD. "Our
view is that a .desi domain provides
a clear voice for the desi community
to showcase what is important to
them globally," Ohri said.
"Using a ccTLD or other hyper
generic TLD is fine for localized
messaging but does not necessarily
translate outside of a limited area."
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"The
desi world is large
and segmented. Desis come
from different national,
cultural, economic,
educational, and religious
backgrounds and there
are many ways to be a desi
and express a desi identity,"
Ohri noted. "With all
this diversity, there was no
obvious place to go online
dedicated to the promotion
of desi culture and
business, no real place to
show desi pride. The
new .desi creates one
platform, one unified way of
being connected to the
global desi community while
maintaining the diversity of
what it means to be a desi."
"For
the desi student in
Washington, London, Sydney
wherever he or she may
be the .desi online
community will make it
easier to connect to his or
her roots and find desi
communities abroad.
For the desi shopkeeper or
restaurateur in Toronto or
Durban, having a .desi
domain will make it easier
to reach out and be seen by
members of those growing
community (and anyone else
who is a fan of South Asian
cuisine). For desi
service and community
organizations in Nairobi,
having a .desi will help
them preserve their
traditions both local
and international and
pass their |
DomainX
attendee Pradeep Kumar
wearing a
.desi T-shirt at the
2015 show in Banagalore. |
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culture
and languages on to future
generations, linking in with
a network of similar
organizations everywhere,"
Ohri said.
"Perhaps
most importantly, on the
individual level, .desi
creates a platform to express
yourself and your heritage.
For individuals across the
world and in the
sub-continent, your .desi
personal domain is a
positive, affirmative
statement of your desi
pride. It is the place to
reflect your unique, dynamic
desi identity, your social
vision, and your hopes for
the future."
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While Ohri has lived in America for
decades his family has maintained
their connection to the country of
their birth. "In the U.S. there
was always some desi-ness
around us but, in truth, it was very
difficult to maintain our
roots," Ohri said. "One
way we found was to connect through
entertainment: Bollywood,
festivals, music, etc. But we
knew there was more out there
more connections around culture,
but also around business, about the
issues that members of the global
desi community are facing, about our
hopes for the world. So,
for us the idea of creating .desi
came about as a result of our own
personal experience, as a way to
connect desis around the world to
culture, social projects, and most
importantly, to each other."
"We
recognize that people everywhere are
searching for a sense of connection
and belonging. At the same
time, we know from our own personal
experiences that people are not just
one thing or bound to one place. A
big piece of our motivation for the
creation of .desi came from our own
life stories of being desis
outside of the sub-continent
embracing our homes in the United
States but with a strong desire to
share and maintain the many positive
aspects of our desi culture with our
friends and especially with our
children. We are excited because
we believe that .desi can help
members of our extended community to
lead a positive life with
connections to the past and an eye
on the future."
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While
.desi has a natural
constituency, the extension
faces the same hurdle all
new gTLDs must clear - making
the public aware that the
extension exists. As of
this writing just over 2,000
.desi domains have been
registered according to
NTLDStats.com. I
asked Sid how they were
tackling that problem.
"Initially,
we spent a lot of time
early on working on our
channels and establishing
reseller and registrar
relationships," Ohri
said. "Traditional
outlets like trade shows,
promotions and online
campaigns were the primary
awareness mechanisms used in
the last year."
"Now,
and going forward we are
expanding the messaging and
focusing more on grass
roots efforts in getting
the word about the .desi
domain to our end customers.
We have engaged a marketing
firm to |
DNJournal's
Ron Jackson (center)
visiting Sid and Bhavna
at the .desi booth at
DomainX 2015 in Bangalore,
India. |
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develop and execute
a global campaign, focused
on the major
desi communities around the
world and in India. We
also have partnered with
some highly visible desi
personalities to promote .desi
globally. And finally,
and most importantly, we
feel our success will be
when businesses and people
are successful when they use
the .desi domain to
perpetuate their brands
as such part of our grass
roots effort is working with
and promoting some of these
businesses using the .desi
extension." |
While
the game has barely begun, .desi has
been in general availability for
a full year now so I asked
Sid how things have gone to date.
"The first year was really
exciting but we have a lot of work
left to do. After 12 months we
definitely have gained a better
understanding or the market and what
success will look like." In
closing Ohri said, "Certainly,
the registrations to date are not
where we would like but we know the
opportunity is still there and
have worked out a plan to generate
more awareness. We are looking
forward to executing our plan going
forward."
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