Getting a Co-op Exclusive Web-Site Name: How to Fly the "Coop"
June 12, 2009 — You've known the .com before the storm. Now co-ops who have or who want to have their own Web site can find themselves happily .coop'ed up: ICANN, the international body that assigns what are called "top-level domain" extensions like .com, .net, .edu and .gov, has added .coop, exclusively for co-ops, both residential and commercial. Sure, ICANN did it nine years ago — but so far, only about a half-dozen residential co-ops in all of New York City are using the special domain. What are the pros and cons of going .coop? ICANN only suggest your read on...!
Carolyn Hoover, head of DotCooperation LLC, the entity that spearheaded its creation, says the .coop extension allows co-ops "to be able to identify themselves, to brand themselves, as cooperatives to show that they're not a condo or a rental building. A housing coop is more than just a building, more than just a place to live. A lot of times people might initially think that, but once they're able to get involved in the coop and help to self-govern, I think the unique nature of a co-op community becomes much more important to them."
In addition to cooperatives themselves, entities are eligible to register and use the .coop extension if they are, among other things, "principally dedicated to serving cooperatives," which could include a number of building-management services. Co-ops in the process of formation are also eligible. You can register any available domain name — first come, first-served — subject to trademark restrictions as determined by ICANN's Uniform Domain Name policy.
DotCooperation has ten registrars worldwide, some in the U.S., where co-ops can register their domain name. And as with many things in this economic environment, there are bargains to be had. "We're doing a discount through our participating registrars," says Hoover, "where the first year is free, a discount of $90 to $120 depending on the registrar. Some registrars are following this up with a discount on the first year of renewal."
After registering your domain, you need to build and maintain a Web site, of course. You can do it yourself (See the Habitat Archive: "Wired World," January 2004; "Under Construction," November 2006) or you can engage a company do it ("Co-op & Condo Communication: Getting Linked with Building Web Apps"). "Most of our registrars also sell these [site-building] services," Hoover says. "Some people cobble them together themselves and some have an organization do the whole ball of wax."
Once you've registered, DotCooperation adds your site to its online directory, where you'll show up on its geomapping page. Additionally, in the spirit of fostering community and communication within the co-op world, Habitat has initiated its own directory of co-op and condo sites — .coop, .com, .net and more Because you know what they say: Out of site, out mind.