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The FIFA World Cup is nearly upon us and then the eyes of the world will be focused on the biggest international football tournament on the planet. Held once every four years – a very long period in terms of the internet – this year’s World Cup will be followed even more intensely than ever before by internet users.

So with more internet users looking for information about the tournament, so the value of relevant domain names continues to rise. It is now six years since FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced that the event would be held in South Africa and unsurprisingly some of the more obvious domain names featuring the words world cup, South Africa and 2010 were snapped up by speculators back in 2004. Trademark and other intellectual property rights offer FIFA (the international governing body for football) certain protection from speculators and the domains worldcup.com, worldcup2010.com and fifaworldcup.com are all owned by them. As is SouthAfrica.org that FIFA went to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) about before an out of court settlement was reached.

Yet, FIFA is not in control of the currently for sale SouthAfrica2010.com nor sites like wc2010.com,, southafricaworldcup.com, sa2010.com which all appear to be privately owned.  Yet, have a quick search using the 123-reg domain search tool and you will find there are plenty of other catchy combinations still available, perhaps for your own blog about the tournament or a forum for fans of different countries to air their views. Keep an eye out for our forthcoming promotion too that just might give you a few more ideas and options for a new topical site.

So think South Africa, think football, think world domination but also think ahead. The next world cup will be held in Brazil in 2014. We’ve already checked and lots of domain name combination for that event are already registered, but there are many more waiting to be snapped up. Be witty, be creative, be in with a chance of hitting domain gold.

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Sometimes it is good to admit when you have made a mistake and Facebook‘s latest admission over the privacy changes that threatened to damage its domination of the social networking sector will have a gone a long way to repair customer confidence in the brand. Ironically, its own model of social networking has seemingly forced its hand.

Facebook has now changed its privacy settings again, in the wake of the protests both from users and various consumer groups and regulators. The latest new look clearly sets out what information is available to whom. Facebook recommendations are given but all settings can be changed by the user within a couple of clicks. For those hankering after the old-style privacy settings these are also accessible again via a ‘customize settings’  link at the bottom of the new privacy page.

As part of the latest changes users can now block who can see their friends list, a lost-feature that had been a particular privacy issue for many. Greater management is also given over applications and add-ons, many of which have access to an alarming amount of personal information. Users too can alter ‘public search’ settings to control what, if any, information can feature in search engine results.

Facebook have indicated the latest version will take a “few days” to roll-out and that users will be prompted to take a look at the new settings by a message on their homescreen. So whether you are an avid Facebook user or just have an account you rarely use, it might be worth checking your account and taking a look at what your current settings are offering to the world in terms of your personal data.

Do you think the latest changes have gone far enough to protect privacy?

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This week new websites for The Times and Sunday Times launched to the public. A cleaner look almost resembling the hard-copy newspapers will appeal to many, but the question is how appealing will they be? Four weeks from now parent-company News International‘s paywall will go up on the sites and only those prepared to pay for the online content will be able to access them.

The much mooted move is now finally upon us but with predictions of up to 90% of current traffic being lost due to the paid-for decision, is it potential business suicide or really the future of our online news intake?
The pricing model is a simple £1 per day or £2 for a full week’s access but with News International installing one of the most strict paywalls ever seen, articles, news stories and the majority of information on the sites won’t be accessible to google and other trawling search engines, so they won’t be picking up casual surfers and will be relying on word-of-mouth to bring in new subscribers.

Yet, as the the world of print suffers so the move towards paid content looks almost inevitable. The content-heavy websites of the major UK newspapers have proven popular both in the UK and overseas but all the time have been considerably subsidised by the print operations of their parent paper. That model can’t continue and News International are the first to take the plunge, hoping that even just a small percentage of their existing online traffic (around 21 milllion visitors per month) sign up to the new regime.
News International are selling the intimacy and greater community inclusion of a subscriber network to potential customers and there will be some novelty – at least in the early months – to witness online writing that does not have a ‘share this’ or ‘re-tweet this’ button at every turn. Whether the ‘experiment’ will work we will have to wait and see.

Would you pay for content? Do you think the internet is now bigger than the ‘brands’ we used to once rely on for our news?

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When you search online, Search Engines answer your search query by providing a list of websites where you can find the information you’re looking for. It doesn’t tell you the answer to your search question, but shows you where you can find the answer.

All that might be changing. Last year saw the launch of Wolphram Alpha, a ‘knowledge engine’ that aims to solve your search query right within the results page.

For its part, Google launched Google Squared, which gives the user a list of results containing the information they’re looking for. Once again, Google doesn’t present a list of websites where you can find the answer, but tries to give you the information right there in the results page.

Now Google is trying to answer even more of your queries right in the results page. Their latest launch short answers, directly answers ‘millions of different fact-seeking searches’ with short answers at the top of the results.

For example, if you want to know when David Cameron was born, just type ‘David Cameron date of birth‘. The answer – 09^th October 1966 – shows up at the top of the results, just above the website where Google found the info.

Google aren’t the only search engine trying to answer questions like this. Aside from Wolphram Alpha, Bing has ‘instant answers’ which aggregates information at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

If your website has lots of facts, and generates traffic from Google by answering questions, then this is going to have a negative impact on your visitor numbers. Google analytics will be able to tell you which search queries are resulting in visits to your website.

The odd thing about this new feature is that Google only makes money when you click on an advert, or if they send you off to a website where they are running ads. If they give you the answer without you having to leave, there’s no chance you’re going to click on an advert and make them some cash.

Google appears to be promoting what’s good for users above what makes them money. This isn’t a first for Google, who say they’ll do anything possible to make the user experience more ‘relevant’, even if that means they miss out commercially.

Have a look at Google short answers and let us know what you find.

Nick Leech runs Digital Marketing Agency Euston Digital

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They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but an ever increasing number of older people getting themselves online suggest that maybe the internet is just a new way of performing old tricks.

Today sees the ninth Silver Surfers day, a co-ordinated nationwide effort to encourage and help older people get online. Over 1,500 Silver Surfers’ Day events are planned at libraries, community centres, schools and many less obvious internet centres, all suitable for total novices and the majority completely free.

With technology becoming so important in our everyday lives even the most technophobe of grannies might find it hard to avoid understanding computers, the internet and how beneficial they can be. As Silver Surfers ambassador Dame Vera Lynn (now 83) explains “You are never too late to learn”.

The aim of Silver Surfers Day is educating and informing and appealing to those who had not given the internet a go before. The various events will help older people learn basic computer skills, how to send an email, scan a photograph, place an online order, play a quiz about health and wellbeing, download and listen to music, and how to use the Internet to find information and save money.

All events are listed at www.silversurfersday.net and information on local events is also available by phoning 0800 100 900.

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We are constantly warned about posting information on the internet that we might later regret but here is the proof:
The Wayback Machine from the Internet Archive.

The US-based site is building a digital library of “Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form”.  Like all the best and biggest libraries access is free to all and there is plenty to entertain.

You can browse through over 150 billion web pages that have been archived reaching back to 1996 up to a few months ago. It’s easy to use too. Just type in the web address of a site or page where you would like to start into the Wayback Machine, and press enter. A selection of dates will show you the various archives found for that site. Click the link  and you will be taken to archived pages from around that date.

If nothing else it is a great example of how far web design has come from some of the garish colour-confusions that used to take so long to load via a dial-up modem. Picking a brand and seeing how the design, look and feel has developed over the years is an interesting use of this webtool that we hope will continue for years to come.

Looking back to 1999, Google was still in Beta, while in 1996 the BBC site was little more than an online version of the Radio Times. The Football Association website of May 2002 reports on David Beckham’s fitness ahead of the World Cup in the days pre-Twitter and Facebook.

With so many internet-enabled devices in our lives nowadays this is a nice reminder of the days when logging on was something of a rare treat and the content out there was much smaller in volume than it is today.

Happy browsing.

Have you found an interesting site via the Wayback Machine? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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How do new domain names get created? And who gets first dibs on registering them? You might be surprised to know that it can take years to get a new domain extension approved. And even then, it’ll be months longer before the general public can buy the things.

Inspired by starting to offer  .co domain names on our website (the .co stands for Colombia), we thought we’d explain how domain extensions get created – and how the different stages of the registration process work.

Who decides there should be a new domain extension?

Often, when a new domain extension becomes available, it’s not actually new at all. The .co extension is a good example of this – Colombians have been able to register domains like .com.co for many years. Then, in 2008, the Colombian government decided to open up the .co domain name.

Country code domains like .co aren’t usually run directly by the country’s government. Although they tend to monitor how the domain is administered, the day-to-day management is generally the responsibility of another organisation.

In the UK, Nominet is responsible for the .uk domain name. However, the government can take ultimate control – as demonstrated by recent changes at the organisation.

Not all domain names are country codes. Some, like .tel and .mobi, were created by ICANN, the organisation with overall control of the entire domain name system. There’s a complex approval process for new domain extensions – for evidence of just how complex, look no further than the ongoing tale of .xxx domain names.

Sunrise, landrush and general availability

Once the creation of a new domain extension has been agreed, most domain names go through three registration phases:

• Sunrise. This is the first chance people have to buy domains ending in the new domain extension. It’s usually only open to trademark holders, who can apply to buy the domain name which is identical to their trademark. Each trademark owner is usually checked individually, to make sure nobody buys domains to which they’re not entitled. Sunrise periods usually run for a couple of months. The .co sunrise runs from 26 April until 10 June.
  
• Landrush. Following on from sunrise, the landrush period allows anyone to register the new domains. Premium domains get snapped up at this stage. Most landrush periods are run on a first-come-first-served basis, resulting in a stampede for the best names. Others, like .co, invite applications and auction off the most popular domains. Either way, there’s usually a premium to pay. The .co landrush runs from 21 June until 13 July.
• General availability. Once the fuss over the landrush is over, domains go on sale as normal. In most cases, this means you can search for and buy them online, becoming the owner instantly. Buying domains during the general availability stage is cheapest, though you might miss out on a few of the most sought after domains. General availability for .co starts on 20 July.

Most new domain names follow these processes, though the details at each stage might vary a bit.

As for .co domains? When you place an order on our site, we’ll get straight in there as soon as the general availability stage opens and try to register the domain for you. This gives you a great chance of securing the domain you want – without paying over the odds.

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Here at 123-reg Towers surrounded by computer equipment, working away on my PC with dual-monitors, and with my smart phone sat next to me, life is not so bad.  To the people over at the British Computer Society that’s not a surprise.

A new report from them this week suggests a new global phenomena: “people with IT access are more satisfied with life even when taking account of income” according to social scientist Michael Willmott, the author of the study.

The Information Dividend: Can IT make you happier? is based on an analysis of the World Values Survey, which contains responses from 35,000+ people globally. It’s not a new survey just a new analysis of data already there and the findings suggest there may well be an ‘information dividend’ described by the report as “a personal and social benefit which comes from access to information and IT”.

The report suggests that it is not just the efficiency benefits that  play a part in this “information dividend”. In the developing world, life satisfaction is heightened with an additional sense of freedom, gained by having access to IT. The findings suggest this is even more so amongst females in developing nations, prompting a call for even more research into the field by Elizabeth Sparrow, President of the BCS: “The relationship between IT and happiness has not been well researched which is why the Institute commissioned this study. If we can enhance the understanding of the relationships in a way that leads to new and improved thinking, strategies or solutions then we will have helped a little”.

With a growing number of projects collecting old IT equipment to be sent to developing countries, perhaps we will soon see a happier world…

Does IT make you happier?

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Google AdWords is the advertising service that is the basis of Google’s multi-billion dollar revenues.

Although not the first in the market, AdWords almost single-handedly proved that search engines could make money from advertising.

How it Works

Most website owners are familiar with how it works: Advertisers bid to make their advert appear in the search results when a particular search takes place; and pay Google a few pence when someone clicks on their advert. It’s a very powerful way of promoting products to people who are actively looking for them.

Google likes to Innovate

Google haven’t been content to sit back at let AdWords make money. A rare thing for a company with such a dominant market position, they have continually worked hard to innovate and develop new tools, formats and features to help advertisers engage with potential customers in a more meaningful way.

New ideas from Google

Last year we talked about turbo charging your campaign with Sitelinks, a powerful way to dominate more of the results page. Earlier this year Google introduced Product Extensions that allow you to pack your adverts with more content. Google have also introduced a new Opportunities tab within each AdWords account that is a fast and easy way to add new keywords and improve your return on investment.

Such is the rate of change, Google have launched a new Ad Innovations website to help advertisers keep up with all the new technologies. Some of these are fully released features, whilst others are still in early development.

Here are a few of my favourites

Click to call Extensions: When someone searches on their phone and sees your advert, this feature lets them call you by clicking on the advert

Multiple Location Extensions: This feature allows you to list all the stores nearest to an advertiser when they carry out a local search for a particular product.

Remarketing: This allows you to target users who have left your website without buying. Using the Google content network you can show them adverts in order to get them back to your site.

Google Ad Innovations also highlights new features within Google Analytics that can give you greater understanding about how your advertising is working.

AdWords Search Funnels: When someone clicks on your advert and buys from you, the chances are that this isn’t the first time they have seen your adverts, or even clicked them. This feature lets you see all the other keywords they searched for before finally buying something.

Analytics Intelligence: Not sure quite what you should be looking for in Google Analytics? Intelligence is an automatic alarm bell that identifies trends and data that deserve your attention.

Aside from showcasing new features and giving you video tutorials, Google also say that they want to hear back from advertisers on the way in which you think the products can be improved.

Take a look

Start getting more from Google advertising by taking a look at Google Ad Innovations site today.

Have you tried and tested any of these new features? Leave your feedback below.

Nick Leech runs Digital Marketing Agency Euston Digital

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Tomorrow the country goes to the polls.

In what truly has been a Digital Election – TV debates, Twitter and Facebook use by would-be MPs – tradition reels us back in as voters visit the polling stations. In community centres, schools and halls across the country there will be no laptops, smart-phones or iPads. Instead, voters will be crossed off of printed lists, be handed a voting slip and urged to make their mark in 2B or HB pencil alongside the candidate they prefer. Then there is the fold and drop into a ballot box that will no doubt be reminiscent of the sort of metal box your granddad used to keep his tools in – twenty years ago. We might live in a digital world influenced by technology and those who put the same to best use, but when it comes to finally choosing who will govern us we go back to basics and the tried and trusted methods we have used for decades.

The digital election has empowered many to present their thoughts and helped others gain access to information they might never have obtained otherwise. It has however, also led to an information overload in certain respects. With more stats, facts and inside-leg measurements available about the economy, your local area and the individual candidates than ever before, many are finding it hard to sift through the fluffy-election speak and work out who really will be best to run the country.

The most famous of all the Twitterati, Stephen Fry even admitted this week that even he was unsure of how he will vote, leading to a 7 page blog and compelling read, analysing various options and urging readers “do vote just as you want and be proud to do so”.

That is the most important factor to remember about your right to vote in an election. It is yours. Your one chance to shine, make your own choice, your own decision and perhaps make the difference.

The BBC has a video wall of voters saying what they would do if they were Prime Minister.  We all have ideas of what would be best for us or what would be best for the country as a whole, yet such is life, it is unlikely that any of the major or minor parties or independent candidates match up to our ideal in every department. That is not a reason to note vote however, simply a reason to make a thought-out decision – perhaps educating yourself from the information available online – and choosing who might serve you best.

Casting your vote might not be the easiest decision you have ever made but it may well prove the most important. For those still undecided and looking for the last minute thoughts of candidates, commentators and the public, Tweetminster (@tweetminster) is a great place to see the digital election in action. By the end of the week we might be blogging from a country with a very different feel – certainly elections will never be the same again. However, it turns out, make sure you use your chance to influence the result.

Don’t forget our very own election special offers at 123-reg – but hurry out polls and election offers close on 17th May.

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