FEATURE

FLASH! Turn On Your T.V.!

by Paul Wagner

The next playing field in the Internet revolution is here. Hollywood has gone to extremes to buy something that's neither a movie, a studio, nor a lead talent. A group of Hollywood execs recently purchased the TV top level domain extension so they can run the hottest web thing since .COM. Yes it's true that all the other top level domain extensions (beside .Com, .Net and .Org) are reserved for other countries and yes your geography is right when you calculate that TV is the abbreviation for Tuvalu, an island in the South Pacific. And yes, that's what happened! Fifteen chubby, white, pasty, Hollywood geeks flew to this tiny island in the middle of nowhere and offered the friendly natives a deal they couldn't refuse - an annual $4M plus points - and all they had to do was sign over their .TV web address extension. Hollywood is now doing the rest.

You can get a great deal on a .COM domain now at DomainsOnTap.com. But the pricing for a .TV is racy! While you can get a 2-year lease on a .COM for $46.00, the .TV of your choice will be selling for at least $50.00 per year. And while regular domains are coming down in price, the .TV folks tell you up front - "hey, you pay $50 for the first year, then you pay $50 plus 5% for the year after thatŠand so on!" (Unless of course you pay for multiple years in advance - this is the only way you can get a discount.) These domains are selling like hotcakes. Incidentally, .TV domains are selling so fast; they've sold more domains in 5 months than the .COM people sold in 5 years! Lots of names are going for much more than $50 - some as high as 1 Million per year. Go figure.

Visit DomainsOnTap.tv and you'll find your way into the .TV arena. They make it 100X easier than the .COM people did when the first names were unleashed. You can even order international names from other countries now. You might end up with a name like BostonFilms.LT (Latvia), but you'd have the BostonFilms name. For example, I think the Argentinean name moviecompany.ar is available. You'll pay a bit more for it, but since MovieCompany.com probably sold for around $25,000, the Argentinean version is worth the $200-300 they're asking for it.

What is a TLD? It's a Top Level Domain-the annoying extension at the tail of your domain name. The .COM and .NET are TLDs. Top Level Domains are getting new brothers and sisters by the time the summer rolls around. Some of the banner choices being considered are .Web, .Biz, .Art, .Shop, .Nom and .XXX for those special movies you like to watch alone. When these new TLDs are unleashed, there'll be a mad frenzy to get the hottest names. While Movies.com is taken, Movies.Web will be available when the TLD .web is opened for business. It'll be a first come-first serve thing. You can keep a breast of it all by checking into ICANN.com and DomainsOnTap.com for the latest news on when the new TLDs are going to come out.

If you've got a flash web site and a .TV domain name, my God, you are pretty much on the verge of being an entertainment mogul. Unfortunately, you'll still have to wait for the viewing technology to catch up. While the names are always a good grab for your own B2B and B2C commerce, a high-quality, full-blown internet streaming entertainment .COM won't be able to stream at full-screen, digital quality for a couple of years. Even Richie Cunningham and his little company POP.com put things on hold until a brighter digital day arrives. And you probably heard about the deceased DENTV. They lost their funding when they found out that the Internet moved half as fast as they did. They'll be back, but not for a while.

Flash sites are the rage now. An animated flash site meets the Internet where it's at. No waiting, no tiny boxes to watch. They're full screen and they move relatively fast. Animated fun, flexible and great for messaging and storytelling. Check out PAULWAGNER.com, GodShow.com and WagnerProductions.com. And you'll have to visit Baltazar.com - the Granddaddy of them all.

Flash is a great tool for short messaging movies that you can play at events or send in emails. They make a great open to your web site and they make a great add for your web site as an intro movie to click on when you get to the main page. You can also use them to educate people within your own company. My company's made some fun ones, but we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of what Flash can really do. The next generation of Flash is due out soon and it promises to kick animated ass.

What's a flash web site going for these days? Well, your average company is charging over $2500 a page. But if you hunt around a bit, you should be able to find someone who does it cheaper and BETTER! (Hint-hint)

What will your life be like if you don't jump on the .TV and Flash revolutions? Well, probably a lot simpler - but not as much FUN! Go for it - get your .TV domain name. Get a flash site. You'll be at least a few feet in front of the pack.

Paul Wagner is an Emmy Award winning actor, comedian and writer. His one-man/25 character show GOD SHOW is a multi-media event traveling the country. Paul's production company creates Flash web sites and entertaining messaging videos. Paul traverses corporate America with customized comedy shows at events and trade shows. Visit PaulWagner.com, GodShow.com, WagnerProductions.com and DomainsOnTap.com to learn more. You can email Paul@paulwagner.com.