The land rush for the .Me domain is underway and the usual domain name shenanigans are here--especially with speculation that Apple is hoarding these digital monikers to rebrand its .
The land rush for the .Me domain is underway and the usual domain name shenanigans are here--especially with speculation that Apple is hoarding these digital monikers to rebrand its .Mac service.
This speculation perked up earlier this month. Jason O'Grady tried to land a few Apple.me-ish domains only to find that they are unavailable. The land rush registration period means you fork over $100 to bid in an auction for popular names. Anyone may apply for a .Me domain touts the .Me Registry in a statement that should have read: "Come and get your .Me domains!"
The so-called land rush period runs from June 6 to June 26. So what's .Me really about? It's part revenue generation and part branding campaign for Montenegro. Who? Montenegro is a relatively newly independent country a little smaller than Connecticut.
Here's the history courtesy of the CIA Factbook, a great resource if you haven't used it yet:
The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries Montenegro was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was absorbed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929; at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. In May 2006, Montenegro invoked its right under the
Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro to hold a referendum on independence from the state union. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006.
