How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extension

The opening up of the top-level domain name market in 2012 has offered new perspectives for companies, administrations and individuals to include a geographic component within the domain name of their website. Little to no research has been carried out since then to analyse the uptake of the new top...

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Main Authors: Margot Waty, Seth van Hooland, Simon Hengchen, Mathias Coeckelbergs, Max De Wilde, Jean-Michel Decroly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB 2018-01-01
Series:Brussels Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1609
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author Margot Waty
Seth van Hooland
Simon Hengchen
Mathias Coeckelbergs
Max De Wilde
Jean-Michel Decroly
author_facet Margot Waty
Seth van Hooland
Simon Hengchen
Mathias Coeckelbergs
Max De Wilde
Jean-Michel Decroly
author_sort Margot Waty
collection DOAJ
description The opening up of the top-level domain name market in 2012 has offered new perspectives for companies, administrations and individuals to include a geographic component within the domain name of their website. Little to no research has been carried out since then to analyse the uptake of the new top-level domain names (TLDNs). Based on the specific case of the TLDN .brussels, this article proposes an empirical study of how the opening up of the top-level domain name market actually impacts registration practices. By making use of freely available software tools such as OpenRefine and Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods, the entire corpus of the .brussels domain names (6 300) was analysed from a quantitative perspective. Based on a statistically representative sample (592 domain names), a qualitative interpretation allowed a more fine-grained analysis of how the new TLDN is being used in practice. By doing so, the article gives detailed insight into the impact of the recent changes to the rules concerning domain name registration. Through this analysis, researchers, policy makers, investors and anyone concerned about the identity of Brussels in the digital realm may have a better understanding of the state of play of the .brussels TLDN.
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language English
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB
record_format Article
series Brussels Studies
spelling doaj-art-4f3bc1e8a09d45bd80a9f43edb545b0d2025-08-20T03:14:41ZengUniversité libre de Bruxelles - ULBBrussels Studies2031-02932018-01-0110.4000/brussels.1609How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extensionMargot WatySeth van HoolandSimon HengchenMathias CoeckelbergsMax De WildeJean-Michel DecrolyThe opening up of the top-level domain name market in 2012 has offered new perspectives for companies, administrations and individuals to include a geographic component within the domain name of their website. Little to no research has been carried out since then to analyse the uptake of the new top-level domain names (TLDNs). Based on the specific case of the TLDN .brussels, this article proposes an empirical study of how the opening up of the top-level domain name market actually impacts registration practices. By making use of freely available software tools such as OpenRefine and Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods, the entire corpus of the .brussels domain names (6 300) was analysed from a quantitative perspective. Based on a statistically representative sample (592 domain names), a qualitative interpretation allowed a more fine-grained analysis of how the new TLDN is being used in practice. By doing so, the article gives detailed insight into the impact of the recent changes to the rules concerning domain name registration. Through this analysis, researchers, policy makers, investors and anyone concerned about the identity of Brussels in the digital realm may have a better understanding of the state of play of the .brussels TLDN.http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1609innovationtoponymypublic space
spellingShingle Margot Waty
Seth van Hooland
Simon Hengchen
Mathias Coeckelbergs
Max De Wilde
Jean-Michel Decroly
How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extension
Brussels Studies
innovation
toponymy
public space
title How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extension
title_full How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extension
title_fullStr How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extension
title_full_unstemmed How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extension
title_short How hot is .brussels? Analysis of the uptake of the .brussels top-level domain name extension
title_sort how hot is brussels analysis of the uptake of the brussels top level domain name extension
topic innovation
toponymy
public space
url http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/1609
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