Category: Notícies

Sports organisations go digital with .barcelona

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

At the .barcelona domain we’ve developed a project to help sports clubs and organisations in Barcelona to go digital. Entitled elmeuclubesportiu.barcelona, the initiative has enabled them to launch a website (or update an obsolete site) and to link their digital identity with the city’s values.

“For many this was an unresolved project they couldn’t take on for financial reasons, and this opportunity has come as a gift to them as they’ve managed to cover their needs”. Toni Burrueco is a sports promotion specialist with the Barcelona Institute for Sport and has been one of the main facilitators for this project.

The digital revolution we are immersed in forces us to adapt to new ways of consuming information. This also applies when it comes to engaging with members of organisations.

“Sports organisations and their communication have a mainly dynamic reality that transforms social media into the website for many of them. Yet a website with its own domain enables them to post content that goes well beyond the day to day, explaining who they are, what they do, their history, the connection with their surroundings… A website for a sports organisation is a diamond that needs polishing”, insists Burrueco, “it’s the gateway for discovering their work for anybody interested in taking part or joining the organisation, and even for sports rivals”.

Through Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Institute for Sports and Fundació.cat, interested clubs without a digital presence or with an obsolete page can now get a free single-page website with photos, a description of their services, contact details and the option of showing their location on the map.Thanks to this project, municipal facilities that have launched websites include the Carlos Pérez de Rozas Municipal Baseball and Softball Ground and pioneering organisations such as the Centre for Underwater Recovery and Research. Sports associations such as Futsal Dante and the Picornell Athletic Sports and Health Club have joined others with recently created sites, such the Turó Basketball Club and Rollergrind, to become part of the .barcelona ecosystem.

.koeln and .cologne as the digital voice for Cologne

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

We spoke to Christina Boenig, the product manager for NetCologne, a network operator based in the German city of Cologne. Boenig is in charge of domain products for the company, which was the official registration agent for the .koeln and .cologne domains from 2014 to 2018. Since then, the company has specialised in marketing these two domains in collaboration with the register dotkoeln GmbH.

How many .koeln and .cologne domains have been registered to date?

We started in 2014 with some 4,000 registered domains, a figure which had risen to 5,500 when we sold the register in 2018. Today there are 4,900 registered domains, 3,273 of them registered through NetCologne and the rest with other registration companies.

What is the main mission of the .koeln and .cologne domains?

The domains are very well known in Cologne and the surrounding area. We’re connected with clients from local businesses involved in schools, associations, events and the city’s public wi-fi network, so now we focus on regionality. In other words, identifying the two domains with the attributes and values of the city.

What are the requisites for registering a .koeln or .cologne domain?

Even though the domains are focused on identifying organisations and people from the city, there are no specific restrictions other than the usual ones for any type of domain.

What are the advantages of using a .koeln or .cologne domain compared to other domain extensions?

It’s a domain that demonstrates the connection with Cologne and offers a range of assets and services in Cologne for the city’s inhabitants. In addition, as a geolocatable domain, it improves search results and as it uses the name of the city it’s easier to remember.

What have you done to promote the .koeln and .cologne domains among the local community?

We run an ongoing campaign of interviews with local heroes: we tell their business story and the reason they use a .koeln or .cologne domain. We want to present a variety of cases of different uses. From local cafes to shop owners in the city and even social involvement and content creators. We use interviews for communication on social media and we accompany them with information on the domain. We also publish them in our regular magazine for business clients. You can find the interviews at  NetCologne local heroes – YouTube. Besides local heroes, we run publicity campaigns such as vinyl on trams with slogans like “Your city, your domain” and “Those who love Cologne, show everyone”. We held a draw on social media, where you could win a surfing trip on the River Rin with the slogan “surf offline with .cologne”.

What are you doing to promote local initiatives and organisations?

In the past, we offered .koeln and .cologne domains for free or at a reduced price. While we thought this was good practice, it wasn’t so successful, as there was only a take-up of a few domains. Often there was just a re-direction. The migration of existing domains appears to be a big barrier, so what we do now is to sponsor some associations, events and organisations in Cologne, such as the literature festival  lit.COLOGNE.

Finally, how do you think the .koeln and .cologne domains contribute to the community in Cologne?

Besides being a geolocatable domain which links you with the city’s values, at NetCologne we give a lot of visibility the users of these two domains. We’re a digital voice for the city.

Visit to the registration company Nominalia to promote the .barcelona domain

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

We recently had a meeting with part of the Nominalia team at their offices in Barcelona. We spoke to Manuela Becerra, Director General of Nominalia Spain, France and Portugal, Leticia Rodríguez, Marketing Manager, Carina Peña, Sales Director, and Rebecca Saavedra, Customer Support Manager.

Nominalia is one of the official registration companies for the .barcelona domain. As you know, all domains must be registered through a company accredited by the ICANN and cannot be purchased directly. For more information on registration and resale companies read this article.

For the .barcelona domain we made the most of the occasion to present the new stage we recently embarked on with a new image. This was the perfect moment to work on the formula for developing joint initiatives to raise public awareness and understanding with regard to the city domain. This collaboration could include awareness campaigns, promotional and training action to highlight the unique benefits of choosing the .barcelona domain.

During the meeting we also talked about the positive impact that integrating artificial intelligence can have in the creation of website and the boost this can provide in the promotion of domains such as .barcelona.

We embark on a new chapter with a new image

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The .barcelona domain enters a new chapter and adopts a new image with a light-hearted visual universe full of character.

With its main character created from a dot, the new image is the result of a strategic realignment to adapt us to the current context and position the .barcelona domain as an essential element for projects linked to the city.

The .barcelona domain is making a qualitative leap to add greater value to digital products which use it. In this respect .barcelona is not just any domain, not just an extension, but a way of boosting your projects and giving them their own meaning.

The new image has a multiplying effect, with a common identifier, boosting projects with .barcelona domains as part of a dynamic, innovative, vital, committed and optimistic community. If it happens in Barcelona, it’s got a .barcelona domain.