.Coop eNewsletter
27 October 2010
Start your 2012 International Year of Cooperatives
Celebration
Start your celebration of the UN International Year of
Cooperatives by getting a special "2012" .coop name!
dotCoop will be offering any domain name that contains "2012" in
the name for three years at one low price. That way if you want to
start promoting your "2012" activities now, you will have the .coop
domain name you want right from the start. You won't even have to
remember to renew it because it will be yours for the next 3
years.
The following registrars will offer these special .coop domains
beginning on 1 November 2010 - contact them to find out how to get
your special price.
Check on www.coop for any updates
on the program and go to these great registrars starting on 1
November and get your name now! Contact us with any questions of
course
2010 Survey Deadline on 31 October
dotCoop has been emailing surveys throughout 2010 for those who
have registered new domains and renewed existing domains. We have
even reached out to those that have stopped using a .coop
domain.
For those renewing .coop domains, we have been offering a free
year of renewal for one lucky co-op that has responded to our
survey during the year. In order to make that prize available for a
renewal in 2011, we will be selecting a winner from those who
respond to the renewal survey by 31 October 2010 and indicated
their interest in the contest. Those that respond after October 31
will be eligible for next year's contest.
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. We'll be providing
a summary of the survey responses in the next eNewsletter. And get
those last minute surveys in today!
Ten Years of .Coop
The .coop domain was first envisioned in mid-2000 when the
National Cooperative Business Association was alerted that ICANN
would be adding new top-level domains (like .com and .net) for the
Internet.
NCBA immediately understood the benefit of securing the support
of the global cooperative community inthe effort to secure an
internet space for cooperatives. NCBA worked with the International
Co-operative Alliance and other co-ops and co-op organizations
around the world during the proposal phase for what ended up being
the .coop domain.
Letters of support came in from a variety of supporters that
provided ICANN and the internet community a startling view of the
reach of cooperatives around the world. This support confirmed that
co-ops were part of what has been called a "natural" community on
the internet.
NCBA - and the global cooperative community - was awarded the
.coop domain in late 2000. NCBA and the ICA worked closely with the
.coop technical partner (Poptel, a worker cooperative from the UK
whose investment was taken on by the Midcounties Co-operative
Society Ltd in 2005) to ensure a successful launch.
dotCoop was created as an NCBA subsidiary to manage the .coop
domain including the critical verification processes.
In late 2001, the contract with ICANN was signed and was quickly
followed with an agreement signed with the ICA in Rochdale,
England. It was an historic moment for cooperatives and only
appropriate that it took place at the home of the modern
cooperative movement.
On January 30, 2002, .coop was activated on the Internet "root"
and .coop became a reality for cooperatives. Registrar services
were added in October 2002 and currently dotCoop has 13 registrars
that offer a variety of services besides .coop domains.
DotCoop continues to provide new services to .coop name holders
such as the .Coop Directory, a map-based directory of .coop users
and the sponsorship of the dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative
Excellence that were first awarded in 2009.
Looking back, the three organizations that worked to create the
.coop domain saw the potential of .coop to bring cooperatives
around the world together through the Internet. The vision of NCBA,
Poptel/Midcounties and the ICA continues to benefit the global
cooperative community today.
See what they are doing today for cooperatives:
Make a New Year's Resolution for 2011
On 1 January 2001, the dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative
Excellence will begin accepting entries on the
www.globalawards.coop website.
These awards were created by dotCoop to recognize the
application of cooperative values and principles to drive
cooperative and business success. This is a great opportunity to
demonstrate how your co-op is using cooperative principles to
positively impact your business and community.
Be sure to sign up for alerts so you can get more information as
it is provided. The site currently provides information about our
2009 winners and judges.
Winners will be announced at the ICA General Assembly in Cancun,
Mexico in November 2011. What a great way to kick off your
celebration of the UN International Year of Cooperatives.
Secura Offers Free Web Hosting for Co-ops from Emerging
Economies
Secura is accredited by ICANN for all generic Top Level Domains
and country domains and was one of the first .coop registrars
accredited by DotCoop and ICANN. When domainnamebuyers.com was
still independent, it listed Secura as among the best registrars of
the world.
Secura sells to resellers, but also to private customers, who
visit Secura's website at http://www.domainregistry.de (German) or
http://www.com-domain.com (English). Basic information is also
available in other languages - from Hungarian to Chinese. Secura
also provides support in many different languages. Customers can
easily pay by credit card but other payment methods are available.
Secura publishes a Domains Blog in order to inform users about new
developments in the domain business.
.Coop is part of Secura's business plan. But it is not just
business. CEO Hans-Peter Oswald explains that "We are committed to
the democratic idea of cooperatives. Customers understand very well
if you just do something for profit or if there exist at the
company's profile also an idea beyond profit like a commitment to
the community."
Secura has standard prices for .coop domains for all customers,
but offers .coop registrants from South America, Africa, and Asia
free web hosting if they register or transfer their .coop domain to
Secura.
One of the primary reasons that Secura thinks that .coop domains
are a great deal for their cooperative customers is the value it
provides with Search Engine rankings. Many people are searching for
a generic
term in the Internet rather than for your company's name. Search
engines like Google rank your listing higher if a keyword from a
search is in your domain name. You can get these names with .coop
when they are not available in .com or other legacy domains.
Secura staff encourages cooperatives and cooperative
organizations to think about the name they choose to make sure they
maximize their positioning on Search Engine result lists.
If you want their help in picking the right .coop name or simply
want to get your .coop domain, contact Secura with any
questions.
New www.coop Site Launched
DotCoop is pleased to announce a totally new www.coop site.
Although the site was released in mid-August, refinements and
updates continue as we work to make the information available to
more cooperatives around the world. A great new feature is adding
the Google translator so that visitors can get all of the
information in their native language.
The primary focus of the site is to make it easy for co-ops to
be able to select and register their .coop domains. By adding a
simple 1 - 2 - 3 graphic, the site now steps you through the
critical questions - Are you eligible for a .coop domain? - What
name do you want? - Where do you register your name?
We've added a new Focus area where we highlight .coop services
such as our new 2012 offer and the .Coop Directory. Look for new
profiles about innovative co-ops and their work in support of
co-ops and their community.
The new site also puts everything you need right on the homepage
like links to sign up for our Twitter feed, Facebook and also our
RSS feed for important announcements.
So come and visit - and click!
In Their Own Words. . .
En VíaCoop estamos interesados en distintas formas de producción
sustentable: agrícola, animal, recolección
silvestre y pesca. Nuestra gama incluye también medicina
holística y natural, así como productos de uso diario
biodegradables y reciclables y basados en energías limpias.
Welcome to abcul.coop, the top information and news site about
credit unions in England, Scotland and Wales, and the home site of
the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd.
ABCUL is the main trade association for credit unions in
Britain. We provide a wide range of services to our members
including information, representation and training
WOOPA est un bâtiment à énergie positive et « carbone zéro »,
d'une surface totale de 11.000 m2 qui accueillera des entreprises
et des commerces issus de la finance éthique. Il est complété par
un projet de 94 logements sociaux à basse consommation d'énergie,
représentant ainsi un ensemble immobilier d'une surface totale de
20.000 m2.
Au delà de la performance énergétique et technologique, WOOPA
sera un véritable laboratoire de vie et d'expérimentation,
prolongement du fonctionnement coopératif des entreprises à
l'origine du projet. WOOPA se veut donc être à la fois la vitrine
du savoir-faire technique de ses concepteurs, ainsi que celle de
l'esprit coopératif, plus respectueux des individus dans
l'entreprise.
Special Offer Still Available from Select Registrars
Just a reminder that new .coop registrants can get their first
domain at no charge for the first year. Some registrars are also
offering discounts on the first renewal. Tell the other co-ops in
your community and check with us about participating
registrars.
Contact us at support@nic.coop for a list
of participating Registrars.
