Scotland's domain names boom
Scotland has embraced its own domain name destiny with more than 4,000 .Scot domain names being signed up in the first hour of the domains being available.
Jesus.scot and Oor Wullie.scot were among the first to be snapped up by keen purchasers.
Others snapped up in the first minute were AfricanSafaris.Scot, Gynaecology.scot, Labour.scot, Braw.scot, Braveheart.scot, the45percent.scot, Happy.scot, Cocacola.scot, Great.Scot and Facebook.Scot
Director of DotScot Registrar Gavin McCutcheon quipped: "With more than 4,000 sign-ups in an hour that makes us more popular than the SNP in a per hour basis for sign-ups!
"It's fantastic news because we often see people saying Scotland isn't digitally forward looking. I think this helps put paid to that myth and I can't wait to see what people do with their sites.
"And may I welcome OorWullie.Scot to the fold of .scot sites. I haven't yet checked to see if it was registered by the trademark owners or a fan – but if the same person wants to do it for all The Broons family then they will need to be quick.”
It puts Scotland on parity with the likes of Wales, London, Berlin and New York City as having a domain of its own instead of having to sign up to .com, co.uk or .uk.
There has been considerable interest in the domain since July when the details and timetable of availability went mainstream. Businesses were allowed to register for trademarks in July but today sees the domain opened up to the world.
Gavin McCutcheon said while the recent referendum debate has helped, “.scot transcends politics and the proof of that is in the thousands who have signed up.”
He added: “There’s been huge interest in .scot since July when we went public. We’ve seen strong interest from many sectors but it’s particularly pleasing to see the international digital giants like Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram get on board.
“But it’s not just about the businesses – international and local – it’s about individuals and I’m hearing lots of individuals are getting involved which ties in with the whole ethos of the web being for everyone.”
“That’s not to say the Indyref didn’t help. People on both sides are now wanting to express their Scottish identity more and I think it’s going to be really exciting to see what is registered tomorrow and then what websites go live quickly.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “With .scot domains now generally available, people at home and abroad have a new opportunity to express their Scottish identity or affinity online.
“I also look forward to www.gov.scot being adopted in the coming months as the primary web address for the Scottish Government.”
