ccTLDs: a recollection of the usage of country code domain names and their importance for identity and culture

Abstract

Some may say that the urge to belong is a fundamental part of the human experience. We are created in communities and in them we develop language, worldviews, culture. Aside from negative aspects, the Internet may help us in our search for belongingness: we can reach out to those who are like us, we can reveal expressions of ourselves, we can create and sustain culture by projecting what is inside us to the outside world.

Domain names were created to facilitate identification and traceability on the Internet: through domain names people and computers can locate and exchange information. Thus, when we choose a domain name for a website, for example, we proactively search for the one which best represents what we want to express. While this is true of all sorts of domain names, it especially resonates for those whose primary purpose is to encompass a territory or ideal.

Country-Code Top-Level Domain Names (ccTLDs) are two-letter suffixes mainly used by countries to denote their Internet addresses and, possibly, their symbols and cultural identity. Some examples include .co (for Colombia), .br (for Brazil) and .fr (for France). When we see certain country-code domain names, right away we connect the symbol (.uk) to its main idea (United Kingdom). By doing so, we think about cultural aspects attached to the symbol. For instance, I can expect to access content in English in a website that uses “.uk”.

Other ccTLDs are more difficult to tackle. I need more than just see a .co domain to understand its target audience: is the domain alluding to Colombia? Is it being used as “corporation”? It is not just ccTLDs that can express our identities online. Other domain names are useful means to encompass an ideal or symbol. For example, .asia is widely used in and for the Asian market. Non-geographical names may serve this purpose as well: .hotel may be used for those aiming to be identified with this specific market. What makes ccTLDs special then?

We argue that there are at least four reasons why country-code domain names are good resources for reinforcing online identity:
1. They are historical. The development of ccTLDs occurred concurrently with the Internet’s own growth.
They were created bearing in mind the importance for users and computers to locate territory online;
2. Many ccTLDs were responsible or related to the regional and local development of the incipient academic and commercial Internet;
3. ccTLDs reinforce a nation’s or region’s imaginary on the Internet. In an environment that is as global as can be, ccTLDs have served, since their creation, as identifiers of local content and local identities. Even some ccTLDs that might explore their usages apart from the geographical connection may, by doing so, expand a territory’s presence online;
4. ccTLDs may help promote local content, serving as a safe and traditional space for local users to diffuse their own content with a local target audience. The article aims to shed light on how identity plays on country-code domain names. We tell a short story on ccTLDs and their usage. Then, we explain how regional identity is maintained in ccTLDs. We also give some examples of their usages. Finally, we point out the flexibility and dynamism of ccTLDs.

Keywords: Internet Governance, Domain Names