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Universities Buying Up Tons Of .XXX Domain Names To Protect Brands

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:11:01 +0000

Now that buying .XXX domain names is an option, universities are snapping them up in an effort to protect their brands. These universities include the University of Kansas, the University of Michigan, Indiana University, Purdue University, Ball State University, Grand Valley State University, Central Michigan University, Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University, etc. None of these universities will be doing anything at all with the .XXX domain names.

The University of Kansas bought domains names like www.KUgirls.xxx and www.KUnurses.xxx. The Kansas school spent about $3,000 buying these domain names.

Indiana University spent about $2,200 buying about 10 domain names including www.hoosiers.xxx. “This is just a modest cost of doing business in the world we live in,” stated Indiana University spokesman Mark Land.

The University of Michigan bought 21 .xxx domain names. “This is viewed as a rational and practical step to protecting our image,” stated U-M spokesman Rick Fitzgerald. The university spent about $2,800 to reserve 14 names for 10 years. U of M bought domain names such as hailtothevictors.xxx.

Michigan State University decided not to buy any .xxx domain names, but they will be monitoring the situation closely and promises to pursue anyone who uses their trademark or images on a non-university approved website.

The ICM Registry of Palm Beach, Florida is the exclusive management company for the .xxx names. They sell them through about a dozen middlemen companies such as GoDaddy for about $100 per year. Other well known brands that have bought .xxx domain names include Target, Nike, and Pepsi.

[AP and Freep]

Gig.U Network Brings Super High Speed Internet to 28 Universities

Riley Kennysmith — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:17:52 +0000

A group of American universities have banded together to offer their campuses high speed computer networks beyond anything that is currently commercially available. The Gig.U project will offer one-gigabit connections to university campuses and their surrounding areas, which the project hopes will draw companies to the areas. The New York Times reports that in the test program in a small area near Case Western, three startups moved to the neighborhood within three months.

There are currently 28 universities involved in the Gig.U Next Generation Innovation Project. Participating schools include: Arizona State, Case Western Reserve, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Pennsylvania State, University of Alaska, University of Florida, University of South Florida, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky, University of Illinois, University of Chicago, University of New Mexico, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State, Duke University, Wake Forest University, University of Virginia, West Virginia University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of Hawaii, University of Washington, University of Montana, Colorado State, University of Missouri, Indiana University, University of Kentucky, George Mason University, Howard University, University of Maryland and Penn State.

The project is funded by the universities involved and non-profits. Gig.U is currently based out of the Aspen Institue, led by executive director Blair Levin and project director Elise Kohn.

ChaCha and Indiana University Collaborating On Search Project

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:24:05 +0000

Search engine, ChaCha and Big 10 Univesity, Indiana are collaborating to create a reference desk to connect students with search experts.Â Indiana University students and faculty will have access to resources provided by IU’s librarians and info-tech staff via ChaCha.

“We’re experimenting with some of the cool things we can do when we apply human intelligence to all that’s the best of the university’s Internet,”Â stated Scott Jones, a ChaCha co-founder and IU alumni (class of 1984).Â Founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos invested $6 million in ChaCha in January 2007.

ChaCha utilizes two types of search: instant and live guided.Â Instant search works just like a Google or Yahoo! where relevant web sites end up at the top of the search result pages.Â Live guided is the more innovative type of search created by Chacha where a real person (guide) will chat with you and understand what exactly you are looking for.Â ChaCha currently has about 30,000 guides.