18(a) Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD

Prototypical answer:

MISSION AND PURPOSE:

Apple says, ‘ There is an App for Everything’; that definitely seems to be the case.As the usage of smartphones and tablets increases, people depend on Apps for everything; right from instant messaging, shopping, entertainment, to even monitoring their diet plan.

The .App mission is to serve as a dedicated and globally identifiable namespace for all Web & Mobile applications’ websites.

With each passing day, there is an incremental growth in the number of applications being published. The App market is growing at a phenomenal pace. Two of the most popular App Stores – Apple & Android have 500,000+ Apps and they definitely don’t seem to be stopping at that. The number of Apps in the Apple App Store have grown 1000X in 4 years, from a mere 500 in 2008 to 500,000 in 2012 (^1). Android has seen a growth rate of 250% (2010-2011) (^2).

Currently, most App Developers are heavily dependent on app stores to distribute, promote and brand their applications. The scope of these activities is very restricted in the App Store as Developers have to work within the limitations⁄restrictions enforced by the App Stores.Applications need a dedicated and flexible platform – a location to build their brand, have detailed information about it (as compared to the restricted 1-2 paragraphs in the app store), roll out upgrades, network with their customers and do a lot more.

While some apps have websites to do this, most of them choose domain names within the gTLD space. Based on our experience, when a potential registrant goes to a registrar’s site to register a new gTLD domain name, the domain name is unavailable over 70% of the time (Source: Internal research on com⁄net availability checks) and the registrant is presented with long list of permutation options that are not their first choice – either for the name or the TLD. Thus, they end up choosing sub-standard domains instead of the ones they actually prefer.

A .App domain name will give application developers a greater choice and a larger pool of names to choose from and will give them the creative flexibility to do a lot more with their applications.A .App domain will not only add credibility but will also be very relevant to the category itself. (eg: Angrybirds.app would be more appropriate than AngryBirds.com as Angry Birds is not a company but an app). The .App registry will aim to create value and global presence such that an Application with a .app extension, will automatically be recognized as a serious and credible player, as opposed one with a generic extension.

It’s a TLD that clearly sets aside a URL for applications’ primary websites. It will also help end users locate the website with ease and will definitely add value to the existing App Market.

Apart from this, we also believe that a .App domain will be of great value to e-commerce businesses that are looking at building a mobile presence

The internet traffic coming from internet and tablets is increasing, this trend is seen in varying degrees across countries (^3 – page 9).The fastest-growing activities for mobile users in the US showed that consumers increasingly use their devices for retail and commerce. In December 2011, 28.5million mobile users accessed online retail content on theirmobile devices, up 87% compared to the previous year andshows no signs of slowing down(^3 – page 29). As a result, a lot of ecommerce brands are also looking at catching their customers on the move.

In the upcoming years, (^3 – page 30) smartphones are going to becoming the favourite companion for shoppers and brands need to have a mobile presence in order to keep up with their customers. An app is a perfect way for brands to engage their customers, inform them of their latest product ranges and enable easy and frequent shopping. That said, there isn’t a dedicated⁄singlelocation for these apps on the internet where the customer can find them. Our goal is also to make .app the defacto, quick and easy way in which customers can reach the app of any e-commerce company. If theyʹre looking for an app of a company our goal is to inculcate behavior wherein their first response is to reach ʹcompanyname.appʹ. .App will be the primary domain name for these apps and can be used for several other purposes like branding, marketing,support etc too.

Almost all businesses today have their online presence in the .com and .net namespaces. This has made the Internet a very crowded and uncategorized space. App aims to be the defacto TLD for applications online.

Furthermore, with almost the entire industry already having an online presence, this growing niche very well deserves its own namespace on the Internet.

In addition to the above, the mission⁄purpose of .App is:

* ENHANCE SEARCHABILITY AND RECOGNITION

To create a namespace that enables Applications⁄Application Developers to easily distinguish themselves from countless others in unrestricted gTLDs. This benefits the Registrants as well as the end users. End users will be able to find the website of an app they are looking for easily.

* CREATE A CLEANER INTERNET SPACE

To create a cleaner internet experience for end users by implementing pioneering registration policies, content and usage policies, and abuse mitigation processes.

* CREATE A STABLE AND RESILIENT INTERNET SPACE

To deliver a stable and resilient internet experience to registrants and end-users by going above and beyond the ICANN mandated SLAs and delivering 100% resolution uptime

External References:

(^1) - http:⁄⁄gigaom.com⁄apple⁄infographic-apple-app-stores-march-to-500000-apps
(^2) - Refer Attachment ‘Q48a_Android_Market_Insights’ – page 7, figure 3
(^3) - Mobile-Future-in-Focus2012 - A Report by Comscore: http:⁄⁄resources.logicboxes.com⁄files⁄comScore_2012_Mobile_Future_in_Focus.pdf

This completes our reponse to Q18(a)

Similar gTLD applications: (0)