[kictanet] Fwd: [ALAC-Announce] ICANN News Alert -- ICANN Releases Phase One Registrant Survey on the Domain Name Landscape

[Barrack Otieno]

Listers,

For your information and attention.

Regards

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ICANN At-Large Staff <staff at atlarge.icann.org>
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2015 14:11:35 +0000
Subject: [ALAC-Announce] ICANN News Alert -- ICANN Releases Phase One
Registrant Survey on the Domain Name Landscape
To: "alac-announce at atlarge-lists.icann.org"
<alac-announce at atlarge-lists.icann.org>


[ICANN]<https://www.icann.org/>
News Alert

https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-09-25-en

________________________________
ICANN Releases Phase One Registrant Survey on the Domain Name Landscape

25 September 2015

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today
published the findings of its first Global Registrant Survey, which
was conducted on its behalf by Nielsen. The study demonstrates, among
other things, that domain name registrants are more familiar with new
generic top-level domains (gTLDs) than general Internet users who have
not registered a domain. Survey participants were questioned about
their awareness of new gTLDs, as well as their perceived sense of
choice, experience and trust related to the current gTLD landscape.
The study completes phase one of a series of ICANN-commissioned
surveys intended to inform a review of competition, consumer trust and
consumer choice (CCT)<https://www.icann.org/resources/reviews/aoc/cct>
in the Domain Name System. A second phase, which will be launched in
approximately one year, will serve as a comparison to these baseline
findings.

Nielsen surveyed 3,357 domain name registrants aged 18+ in Africa,
Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The survey was
administered in 17 languages and participants were drawn from 24
countries. The research, conducted in two waves between February and
August 2015, was designed to create a meaningful baseline of data on
registrant attitudes regarding new generic top-level domains.

"This survey provides us with a better understanding with how
registrants view the domain name space and Internet and will help
inform future reviews of the program," says Akram Atallah, president
of ICANN's Global Domains Division.

Along with the Global Consumer
Survey<https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-05-29-en>, whose
results were published in May 2015, ICANN commissioned this survey in
response to recommendations from the Implementation Advisory Group on
Competition, Consumer Choice and Consumer Trust (IAG-CCT). Among the
66 metrics<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/iag-metrics-final-recs-26sep14-en.pdf>
[PDF, 472 KB] recommended, a subset of 11 were identified as best
being measured using a global survey of Internet users. ICANN
conducted an open
RFP<https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2014-07-16-en> and
signed a contract with Nielsen to conduct the study in November 2014.
The findings will be a key input for the CCT Review Team to consider.

Awareness of new gTLDs high among registrants, particularly in Asia

Awareness of new gTLDs is higher among registrants than among general
Internet users – 65 percent of registrants reported awareness of at
least one new gTLD versus 46 percent of general Internet users.
Interestingly, while 65 percent of general Internet users said they
had visited a domain in a new gTLD, 64 percent of registrants reported
the same.

Asia stands out when it comes to awareness – 70 percent of those
surveyed said they were aware of at least one new gTLD. Only South
America comes close to that level of awareness, with 66 percent of
respondents from the region indicating familiarity with at least one
new gTLD.

More registrants also said they're likely to consider a new gTLD for
registering domain names in the future – 61 percent versus 52 percent
of Internet users. As with Internet users, the top three choices for
registering a new gTLD name were .EMAIL, .LINK and .CLUB, which were
selected from a fixed list of new gTLDs.

Registrants generally trust the domain name industry

Registrants and general Internet users generally place the same levels
of trust in new gTLDs and the domain name industry, with some slight
differences. Registrants are slightly less trustful (70 percent of
registrants versus 73 percent of general Internet users) that entities
will take precautions regarding who gets a domain name, but are
slightly more trustful (75 percent of registrants versus 71 percent of
general Internet users) that those same entities will give general
Internet users what they think they're getting.

Unsurprisingly, registrants across the board favor no or few purchase
restrictions on domain names in new gTLDs.

Registrants aware and cautious of abusive behavior online

Abusive Internet behavior, including spam, malware, phishing and
cybersquatting are a concern for domain name registrants. Awareness
among general Internet users and registrants is comparable, with
registrants reporting slightly more familiarity with stolen
credentials (71 percent for registrants versus 67 percent for general
Internet users) and cyber squatting (54 percent for registrants versus
40 percent for general Internet users.) Across the board, registrants
also report more personal experience with abusive behaviors included
in the survey: phishing, spamming, cyber squatting, stolen credentials
and malware.

Perhaps because of greater familiarity with abusive behavior online,
registrants as a group reported less fear of falling victim to abusive
behaviors online. To combat their concerns, registrants are more
likely than average Internet users to change their Internet habits,
purchase an identity protection plan or simply stop making purchases
online. The only strategy registrants are less likely to pursue than
general Internet users is to purchase antivirus software for their
computers to combat phishing or cyber squatting.

Who's registering domain names?

The registrants surveyed said they primarily register domain names for
personal or small business use. The survey, which was only open to
those who had registered at least one domain name, showed that
registrants surveyed are mostly male (62 percent) compared to general
Internet users surveyed, whose male audience made up 55 percent of the
consumer survey sample. Registrants surveyed also skewed younger, with
70 percent under the age of 45, similar to the consumer survey, where
68 percent of the sample population was comprised of those under 45.

.COM, .NET and .ORG were the most registered TLDs cited in the survey,
gaining 72 percent, 31 percent, and 23 percent respectively of the
names registrants reported holding. .COM was cited most in North
America with 84 percent of the sample reporting registering a name in
that TLD, while only 53 percent reported holding .COM names in Europe.

While 80 percent of those surveyed said they had one to five domain
names registered, only 40 percent indicated they registered duplicate
domain names in different TLDs, with the highest number of duplicate
domain registrations reported in North America (46 percent of the
sample). Nearly half (49 percent) said a TLD's familiarity was the
main factor in choosing which TLD to purchase.

Additional study highlights include:

  *   Registrants say a well-known TLD is a key factor in determining
which domain name to purchase – more important than a reasonable
price.
  *   61 percent of registrants find it very or somewhat easy to
register a domain name. That figure rises to 76 percent in North
America and 66 percent in Europe.
  *   About half of registrants would prefer a cheaper, quicker, less
complicated experience when purchasing a domain name, as well as a
notable desire to make the process of registering in multiple TLDs
easier.

About the Global Registrant Survey and Supporting Materials

The Global Registrant Survey was conducted by Nielsen on behalf of
ICANN. The data collection phase of the survey took place from
February 19 to August 13 2015, and the final report was delivered in
September 2015. A total of 3,357 domain name registrants aged 18+
representing Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America
were selected based on ever registering a domain name and being a
decision maker in domain name registration decisions meaning they were
aware of the purpose of the domain name and in which TLDs the name had
been registered. The survey was administered in 17 languages and drawn
from registrants in 24 countries. In addition, significance testing
was performed at a 95 percent confidence level throughout the report.

More than 700 new gTLDs have been delegated since the launch of the
program in October 2013. To gauge perceptions of the new gTLDs, the
survey focused on the new gTLDs with the greatest number of
registrations at the time the questions were developed in January 2015
– .EMAIL, .PHOTOGRAPHY, .LINK, .GURU, .REALTOR, .CLUB, .XYZ and a
regionally relevant TLD, including internationalized domain names
(IDNs).

Supporting Materials

Registrant Survey

  *   Global Registrant Survey Full
Report<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/global-registrant-survey-25sep15-en.pdf>
[PDF, 2.53 MB]
  *   Registrant Survey Data Tables by
Region<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/registrant-data-tables-region-25sep15-en.pdf>
[PDF, 3.83 MB]
  *   Registrant Survey Data Tables by
Country<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/registrant-data-tables-country-25sep15-en.pdf>
[PDF, 3.54 MB]
  *   Frequently Asked
Questions<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/registrant-survey-faqs-25sep15-en>

Consumer Survey

  *   Global Consumer Survey Full
Report<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/global-consumer-survey-29may15-en.pdf>
[PDF, 2.48 MB]
  *   Consumer Survey Data Tables by
Region<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/data-tables-region-29may15-en.pdf>
[PDF, 5.03 MB]
  *   Consumer Survey Data Tables by
Country<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/data-tables-country-29may15-en.pdf>
[PDF, 4.78 MB]
  *   Guide to Data
Tables<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/data-tables-guide-29may15-en.pdf>
[PDF, 572 KB]
  *   Frequently Asked
Questions<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/reviews/cct/consumer-survey-faqs-29may15-en>

________________________________
About ICANN

ICANN's mission is to ensure a stable, secure and unified global
Internet. To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an
address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to
be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN
coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that
coordination we wouldn't have one global Internet. ICANN was formed in
1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with
participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet
secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops
policy on the Internet's unique identifiers. ICANN doesn't control
content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn't deal with
access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the
Internet's naming system, it does have an important impact on the
expansion and evolution of the Internet. For more information please
visit: www.icann.org<https://www.icann.org/>.




-- 
Barrack O. Otieno
+254721325277
+254-20-2498789
Skype: barrack.otieno
http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/