By Brian Cute, CEO, Public Interest Registry
Public Interest Registry has much to celebrate this year — January 2018 marks our 15th year managing the .org domain. As our organization has evolved, so has the domain. .org is currently the world’s third largest generic top-level domain with more than 10.3 million domain names registered worldwide.
Public Interest Registry is proud to be the steward of .org, which is a made up of a diverse community of registrants representing nonprofits, corporations, affinity groups, cause-related groups and more, all seeking to make a difference around the world.
In fact, the .org domain is special in that it represents the socially important “good” work being done around the world. Over the past 15 years, our team has taken great pride in supporting the people and organizations who are doing this work and using .org to help them accomplish their goals.
We’re proud to have been a part of the evolution of .org throughout the past 15 years as the domain has strengthened its reputation as being a different kind of domain because it truly makes a difference-In a couple of important ways.
First, the domain makes a difference based on its ability to bring together like-minded people. We know from research that people trust the .org domain as a home for those making an impact in the communities they serve. The 2017 Global Trends in Giving Report, which we co-sponsor with our friends at Nonprofit Tech for Good, showed that 72 percent of donors around the world trust websites and email addresses that use .org the most. Year after year, research shows that the .org domain is trusted as the place where organizations, companies and individuals can come together around a shared interest or passion, and to make a difference in the world through cause-based efforts.
Second, the .org domain is one of the very few domains that is managed by a nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the quality of the internet. In fact, each .org domain sale directly supports the Internet Society (ISOC) to further ensure the internet remains free and open to all.
Supporting a free and open internet is an important part of Public Interest Registry’s organizational mission and culture. We all take our role in this advocacy very seriously, and we look forward to working closely with the entire community of .org users and the .org registrar community throughout the coming year to support your needs. Together, we can continue the excellence of .org and provide a safe and positive experience for our registrants.
Look for the Public Interest Registry team at the NamesCon Global 2018 later this month where we’ll be kicking off our 15th anniversary of .org management celebration. We look forward to connecting with folks in attendance, at our booth (#44) and at the special Women In Domaining dinner. Please stop by and say hello if you’ll be in Las Vegas.