What’s in a Name?

A
rose is a rose and will be a rose no matter what name you give
it. After all, the essence remains the same. So what’s in a
name? The innocuous sounding question is actually a
multi-million one–literally–in the dotcom world of today
(and tomorrow).

Just look at this.

Tuvalu, a tiny South
Pacific nation measuring 26 sq. km and with a total population
of 10,600, has sold the use of its domain name–.tv–to
Idealab for $50 million to be received over a period of 12
years. The contract will be renegotiated in 2012. The deal
promises to garner Tuvalu more than three times its national
budget.

The Tuvalu islands have
already garnered $15 million from the deal, enough to transform
the existence of a country where the annual budget tops out at
$14 million per year. The per-capita revenue of the tiny nation
is on its way to becoming one of the highest on the planet.

And Idealab is further
auctioning off the domain names at 35.7 times their actual
value!

It is offering a starting
bid $1,000 for a ".tv" name versus $28 for a
marginally different version of ".com" for a name?

Tuvalu is not the first
country in the game. Have you not noticed the .cc ads that have
been running on radio, TV, and the Web? .CC is CoCos (Keeling)
Islands–also in the South Pacific.

Opinions are divided about
deal. While some think it as a great idea for a poverty stricken
country to better its citizens’ lives, for others it will turn
out to be only an "amusing footnote in the Internet
history".

But what company would be willing to pay
such high price for a name? Idealab reasons it out in the name
of "brand protection". Only time will tell. But we do
know that there is lot of money in a name these days.