The Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio today announced “that just six months after its historic public launch, the. nyc top-level domain has become the fastest-growing city domain in the world – racking up over 75,000 registrations to date.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio is quoted as saying:
“New York is the only city with top-level Internet domain exclusively reserved for its residents and businesses.”
“Now you can add the City’s web domain to the long list of things New York City is known for – in addition to bagels, bodegas and Broadway.”
“Since its public launch last October, .nyc has proven as vibrant as the New Yorkers who have made it their own,” said Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications Commissioner Anne Roest. “With more than 75,000 registrations to date and counting – all by individuals, businesses, and organizations based in the five boroughs – .nyc is fast establishing itself as a true digital destination.”
The news coincides with a recent report by the digital funding platform Gust that, for the first time, New York edged out California in the total number of startup funding applications in the first quarter of 2015 underscoring the city’s position as a leader in global technology.
With the launch of .nyc, the City of New York became one of the first cities in the country with a top-level domain, creating new opportunities to support local businesses, organizations and residents, and establishing an unprecedented level of geographic authority to the digital sphere.
Unlike other top-level domains such as .com or .net, .nyc domains are only available to individuals, businesses or organizations with a physical address within the five boroughs.
In partnership with Neustar, the official registry for .nyc, the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation today released new data, offering strong support for the efficacy of the City’s domain registration policies, which aim to prevent cybersquatting and price-gouging.
The data reflects .NYC domain registrations through March 31, 2015:
There are more than two dozen industries represented on the .nyc domain
53% of .NYC domains have been registered to individuals;
47% have been registered to small businesses and organizations
The average registrant owns between 2-3 domains, and 97% of registrants own 10 or fewer domains
The average retail cost paid for .nyc domain is $34.99
.NYC is also helping to spur the creation of new online communities.
Notable among these efforts is Digital.nyc, the official online hub of the New York City startup and technology ecosystem.
Since its launch in October 2014, Digital.nyc has seen over 1.2 million page views, resulting in over 123,000 content engagements, and over 3,000 user-generated content submissions. Currently, Digital.nyc receives over 110,000 visitors per month and the site’s directory has grown to 6,455 startups.
This summer, the City will also officially launch Neighborhoods.nyc, a new online platform that community groups can use to develop online hubs for civic engagement, online organizing, and information-sharing.
In 2014, the de Blasio administration reserved roughly 400 neighborhood names – including Harlem.nyc, Astoria.nyc and ParkSlope.nyc – and began accepting requests from community groups interested in licensing these domains.
The new domains will leverage custom neighborhood data feeds that are being developed in partnership with 311 and the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics.
“Domains are no longer commoditized products, but extensions of a brand’s identity,” said Lisa Hook, President and CEO of Neustar, Inc. “New York City is at the forefront of the digital economy and its residents are reaping the opportunities that a globally recognized city domain can provide them. We are thrilled to see the success of the .nyc domain and the nascent impact it has had on New York’s business community,” she added.
“From the moment we heard about the launch of .nyc, we knew we wanted to be a part of this community of organizations and businesses dedicated to New York City,” said Samuel Slaton, Director of Communications for Bike New York. “Bike.nyc has become a crucial medium through which we share our expertise and passion so that cyclists of all abilities can gain the skills and know-how they need to safely navigate and discover the riches of New York City.”
“I launched souvenirs.nyc to offer curated modern, artistic and handmade souvenirs to New York City tourists and enthusiasts around the world,” said Art Malkov, Founder of souvenirs.nyc. “We were thrilled to see that within three weeks of our launch we had shot to the top of Google for many of the most important keywords!”