It's getting so that you can run, but you can't hide--and I'm not just talking about Windows 95 advertisements, either. From car dealers (http://www.dealernet.com) to chocolate factories (http://www.godiva.com), World Wide Web home pages are popping up like virtual bread in video toasters. According to some estimates, there are upwards of four million home pages on the Web, among them my local library, corner video store, and morning newspaper.
Granted, most of these home pages aren't running on dedicated Internet domain sites--there are currently only 110,000 or so registered Internet domain names. But with another 20,000 being registered every month, there's every likelihood that the number of home pages will increase proportionally.
For all practical purposes, however, many of these domain names are bogus in that they are "just in case" registrations that companies or individuals may want to use some time in the future. Procter & Gamble, for instance, recently registered a batch of about 50 domain names, including those related to specific P&G products (ivory.com, for its Ivory soap) as well as generic terms (diarrhea.com, for...well, you get the idea). P&G hopes to use Internet technology to market its products by directly reaching consumers, bypassing traditional marketing channels such as television, newspapers, and magazines. To that end, P&G has allocated about $50 million for developing interactive media. (This is on top of a $120 million partnership P&G previously forged with Paramount Television to generate network and first-run syndicated TV shows.) Still, P&G has yet to actually go online with an Internet domain or home page.
A recent move by the Federal government may put the brakes to rampant domain-name registration, at least temporarily. Network Solutions, the official registrar for the Internet, will begin levying a $50.00 registration fee for commercial (.com) and non-profit (.org) organizations. Existing clients will be hit with the $50.00 on the anniversary of their registration. Of course, fifty bucks isn't even a drop in the bucket to companies that have set aside millions of dollars for Internet development. However, it will make a difference to individuals building personal sites--especially if the registration fee increases in the coming years (and you can bet it will).
On the plus side, there's a benefit to slowing down the propagation of Internet domain sites. The technological view of infinitely extending the Internet by simply adding more nodes is unquestionably valid. Realistically, however, this is a problem because the availability of valid domain names is limited (there can only be one "bbb.com," as Marc Brown points out later in this issue). Of greater concern is the finite availability of unique IP addresses. When we run out of valid numeric addresses, that's it--unless new technologies, such as IPng, come along in time.
Like it or not, part of Network Solutions' role is to establish some order in the wonderful chaos of the Internet. In doing so, maybe the organization should closely examine instances of inactive domain names and IP addresses (for all I know, the company is already doing this). In most states, for instance, banks have to relinquish to the government accounts that have been inactive for a period of time. Applying this model to the Internet, if Procter & Gamble doesn't actually implement a domain named "cough.com" (yep, it's registered) within, say, two years, then maybe the name should go back into the available hopper.
In the meantime, Internet growth will continue at breakneck speed, and we'll be working up a sweat just keeping pace with the introduction of new home pages. Luckily, you'll be able to find relief at http://www.deodorant.com, thanks again to P&G.
Jonathan Erickson
editor-in-chief
Copyright © 1995, Dr. Dobb's Journal