Kiwis get ready… for more .NZ domain name choices

From 1pm on September 30 2014, second level domains such as .net.nz and .geek.nz will become optional meaning you can register names with them, without them or both.

This means you’ll also start seeing names like www.anyname.nz – it’s shorter, simpler and, for many people, far more representative.

If you’ve got a .nz name and are keen on getting the shorter version it’s important that you talk to your domain name provider or visit the www.anyname.nz website to check the status of your name.

www.anyname.nz is the authoritative place to go for information on the change. It’s important you go there because, depending on when you originally registered your name, you’ll find there’s different options open to you.

You may find for instance that you’re eligible to register or reserve the shorter version of your .nz name before anyone else.

You may also find that your .nz name is listed as ‘conflicted’. If, for example, you’ve got a .net.nz name others might have .co.nz or .org.nz versions. If this is the case, you’ll be able to have your say on who might get the shorter version.

If you’re simply not interested in this change, that’s fine. Your .nz name will continue to work as it always has and you’ll still be able to register and use names under the existing endings you like ‘.co.nz’ and ‘.org.nz’.

New top level domains

In the next month or two, new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) are being released. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will be offering more than 1000 new gTLDs planned for public release starting February this year.

The intention is to give users and consumers more choice, whilst allowing for a more stable and secure future for the internet.

Essentially this means that you have more choice, and you’ll be able to put your business name in front of a wider range of TLDs.

Many of these new gTLD’s are often industry specific such as .builders .coffee .florist or .clothing.

Are you doing your part?

This week Telecom came up with some interesting estimates. Here's what they said...

Around the world, there is an explosive growth in demand for data, anywhere, anytime. Consider the following estimates:

More than 90% of the world’s data ever in existence has been created in just the past two years.

By 2015 there are likely to be more than 1 trillion connected devices in the world.

Every day, more than 500 million photos are uploaded and shared online.

More than 30 billion pieces of data are added to Facebook every month.

New Zealand mobile data traffic is expected to grow eight-fold by 2017 to over 11,000 terabytes per month – or the equivalent of 32 million texts each second.

More than 2.5 million New Zealanders now have smartphones.

Nearly 80% of New Zealand homes are connected to the internet.

Over the last year, the average Telecom customer household has doubled its monthly broadband data use from around 12GB to 24GB.

The average smartphone user reaches for their phone 150 times a day.

So, are you doing your part to help drive the internet explosion?

Run old software in a time machine

When our IT professionals (Geeks on Wheels) told us that the computer had had it's day and it was time to look for a new one, we migrated from Windows XP to Windows 7. Most programs that we use worked fine and some popped up some strange messages that we ignored. But one program wouldn't run at all and we ended up replacing it with something else that wasn't nearly as good.

Since then I have come across this article about running old programs on new machines. I tried it and our old program runs perfectly once again.

"Need to run a program like it's 1999? You can tweak Windows to deceive crotchety applications into thinking that they're running on Windows XP, Windows 2000 or even Windows 95.

"If you have an outdated program that doesn't play well with Windows 7 or 8, simply right click it and select Troubleshoot compatibility from the menu. Next, choose Troubleshoot program and skip through the troubleshooter by clicking I don't see my problem listed.

"On the next screen, you can pick an older version of Windows to emulate while running the application - use the Start the program button to test whether your application will run in an older version of Windows.

"If everything works, make the arrangement permanent by clicking Yes, save these settings for this program, and you're ready to rock with classic style."

.kiwi domain name soon available

For the first time millions of New Zealanders will have access to new email addresses and websites ending in .kiwi, following official approval over the weekend.

.kiwi is the first New Zealand-based generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) approved by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) in its new gTLD programme, which ushers in a host of new domains such as .london and .microsoft.

Kiwis the world over will be able to choose email addresses and websites ending in .kiwi which should have great appeal.

New Zealand’s new domain name is expected to be available for individuals and organisations to purchase as early as mid-August for trademark holders and October/November for the general public.

September will mark the beginning of what is known as a “Sunrise” period, in which trademark owners can register their marks as .kiwi domain names before the general public gets an opportunity to.

Sunrise is a tool to protect brands, help avoid cybersquatting and increase consumer security on the Internet in New Zealand, with Trademark holders advised to contact their IP lawyers regarding the Sunrise period.

Google Trends helps your Title and Description word selection

Use Google Trends (www.google.com/trends) to study any search term and see how it measures up to other keywords.

The tool allows for the tracking of various words and phrases that are typed into Google’s search-box.  You can restrict to specific time periods and/or in specified geographic regions.

It’s important to note that you won’t learn how many individuals are searching for your selected keywords, but instead be able to gauge the popularity of a term over time.

Use the tool to see how well your competitors are trending as well. Additionally, you can analyze the results to see which keywords they may be using with more success, and adapt your strategy accordingly. Likewise, look for search terms that directly relate to your industry; see which are currently popular, which have maintained popularity over time, and which are simply not used much at all.

Evidence is provided that Google Trends data can be used to track influenza-like illness in a population. Because the relative frequency of certain queries is highly correlated with the percentage of doctor’s visits in which a patient presents with influenza-like symptoms, an estimate of weekly influenza activity can be reported.

New software to replace Form Mail

Form Mail is the software used to translate a website enquiry form into an email that is then sent to the website owner. The software is supplied as part of the website hosting.

Just before Xmas they upgraded the software and this caused random errors to occur when a website visitor clicked on the Submit button.

Because of the uncertainty of the software I got a contractor to write a new software product (thanks Jamie) and this has now been installed on most  websites.

Bonus 1 – configuration details including  your email are now hidden.

Bonus 2 - a Captcha code can quickly be installed to reduce the amount of spam. For more on Captcha codes go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA. If you are having problems with spam and don’t have a Captcha code installed on your enquiry form, please let me know.

The Psychology of Pricing

Does it really make a difference to sales if you price something at $9.99 rather than $10?

Certain prices have a psychological impact – for example, most pricing is set at $9.99 rather than $10, or $997 rather than $1000. This is now common practice and attracts interest from buyers which wouldn’t exist if the ‘higher’ price was quoted. But there’s more to it than that.

You may think its mumbo jumbo, but there seems to be an attraction or repellence factor around certain numbers. We don’t know why but as this is the case, why not take advantage of it in your pricing?

In Marlene Jensen’s ‘Pricing Psychology Report’ (http://www.pricingpsychology.com/) she speaks of “magic” numbers and “poison” numbers.

Examples of “magic” numbers:

• A price with a 7 in it, considered to be a “lucky number”, has been proven by all sorts of trials to bring in more sales. Jensen says as much as 10%. For example $97 outsells $99.
• But if you are selling to markets in the East as in China and Japan, 8 at the end of a price is considered lucky as the Chinese character for 8 is the symbol for ‘infinite good fortune’. But only an 8 at the end of the price will work –choose $78 and not $80 
• When you put up your price notice, don’t include the cents if the price is in round numbers. If you sell something for $37, don’t list it at $37.00 as that looks bigger to our eyes and we think it’s more expensive. On the other hand if you are discounting by $37, then write ‘$37.00′ up big and bold as customers will think they are getting a better bargain!

Examples of “poison” numbers:

• A price containing a number 3 is said to be a turn off to customers. Jensen gives this astonishing example of price testing she’s conducted:
  Prices tested: $295, $395, $495
  Results:
  - 73 orders @ $295
  - 26 orders @ $395
  - 51 orders @ $495
• The number 13 is generally seen as an ‘unlucky’ number in the West though price testing hasn’t been done to prove this.

Make some tests of your own to convince yourself that this is true.

Show your ‘kiwiness’ and grab your .kiwi.nz domain name

InternetNZ has announced the availability of a new domain name extension in the .nz domain space, .kiwi.nz. This provides you with greater choices and new opportunities, especially for New Zealand businesses, personal websites, email and online marketing.

This coincides with the announcement that the total number of .nz registrations has gone past 500,000.

The 500,000 milestone comes nearly ten years after InternetNZ introduced a competitive market for .nz domain name registrations.

Over the past ten years the .nz domain name space has experienced average yearly growth of 38,280, with the upward trajectory showing no signs of slowing. This is partly because people identify strongly with the .nz domain. A recent report from Europe which found that most businesses continue to put their faith in the local country’s domain, favouring these over generic names such as .com.

When registrations for .kiwi.nz opened, the first fifteen minutes saw over 1000 names registered.

Look to motorway signs for clarity

Motorways are about getting from A to B in the quickest - legal - possible time. But have you ever spared a thought for the signs dotted along Britain's roads (and New Zealand roads for that matter)? Britain's road signs look as they do because of Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert. The graphic designers standardised the road network, created many of its signs and produced two new typefaces, Transport and Motorway.

In the 1950s, road signs were a mess - a confusing and dangerous hotch potch of different symbols, colours and lettering. But more and more people were acquiring cars.

As the government set about creating a brave new world of motorways, Kinneir and Calvert were given the job of making signs that could be clearly read in a split second.

Calvert, now 75, says they had to start from scratch. "It required completely radical thinking. The information wasn't there in terms of reading distance, clarity and letter spaces. We had to make up the signs and then test them. It was instinctive."

They were tested in an underground car park and in London's Hyde Park, where they were propped up against trees to determine the most effective background colours and reading distances.

One of their biggest decisions, which caused upset among conservative commentators at the time, was to opt for a combination of upper and lower case letters.

"The actual word shape was the most distinctive thing because if you had Birmingham in capitals, from a distance, it's difficult to read but in caps and lower case you have word shape," says Calvert. "That was fundamental."

After the success of their big and bold motorway signs, the pair were commissioned in 1963 to overhaul the rest of Britain's roads. They created new signs and remodelled existing ones, based on the European protocol of triangular signs to warn, circles for commands and rectangles for information.