‘ Dot- sucks’ gives voice to consumers
Ottawa also hopes businesses will gain insight from inevitable criticism
They say you can’t suck and blow at the same time. But in the everexpanding world of digital domain names, one Canadian innovator is trying to prove that adage wrong.
Ottawa- based Momentous Corp. is a feisty old- timer in Canada’s Internet industry, running the country ’s first domain registrar ( Internic.ca). It also owns other domain- resellers, a smartphone app ( Hawkster) and a videostreaming service called Show Monkey. Another subsidiary, Zip. ca, was Canada’s leader in video rentals by mail before it closed last August.
Now another Momentous subsidiary, Vox Populi, is making waves. Vox is marketing a new domain name, dot- sucks, as a disruptive top- level domain for businesses and consumers. Cloaking itself in the flag of freedom of speech, Vox Populi hopes dot- sucks will become the go- to destination for consumer feedback, criticism and conversation on any topic imaginable.
Sure, “sucks” belongs on a school playground. But after the domain name is released for general sale on June 1, won’t it be fun to vent your frustrations on such websites as winter. sucks, traffic. sucks or my bank. sucks?
Vox Populi even has a credible-sounding spiel. On its website, nic. sucks, the company says, “DotSucks is designed to help consumers find their voices and allow companies to find the value in criticism. Each dot- sucks domain has the potential to become an essential part of every organization’s customer- relationship management program.”
That’s right. Not only does Vox want to sell dot- sucks names to cranky consumers, it wants brands to buy them, too, to use as customer-engagement platforms to manage comments and complaints. Beginning March 30, Vox’s two- month “sunrise” period kicks in, during which registered trademark holders get first right to buy their appropriate dot- sucks names. The cost of Coke. sucks, Tims. sucks, or Bieber. sucks? A hefty $ 2,499 US a year.
Once sales begin later this spring to the general public, dot- sucks names will sell mainly for $ 249. ( A number of “premium” names, presumably i ncluding traffic. sucks, will be sold at as yet undetermined prices.) But there will also be a $ 9.99- a- year program for consumers who host their site on Vox’s own discussion platform, everything. sucks.
It’s clear Vox wants to have its cake and eat it, too. Even as it’s encouraging companies to buy dot- sucks names to either bury feedback or manage it, the company is happy to sell off available trademarks to any dot- sucks client itching to vent.
( While anyone grabbing IBM. rocks can expect to lose it if Big Blue calls in its lawyers, the rules are less clear regarding dot- sucks domains. Vox says it has received legal assurance that buyers of a trademarked dot- sucks name have a right to that name if the site is being operated as a forum for commentary and correction.)
Vox Populi CEO John Berard is a former public- relations professional in Portland, Ore., who has worked with Momentous in Ot- tawa, and helped write its application for dot- sucks. He says there’s no conflict between the company’s role as defender of corporate reputations and crusader for free speech. “This is first and foremost a consumer platform,” he says. “It’s a platform for dialogue, and a chance for brands to learn more about product development, customer service and customer loyalty.”
While he admits the word “sucks” may sound impolite, he says “it’s no longer a pejorative. It’s a rallying cry, a chance to discuss things that some people would like to see changed.” He also expects the very un- corporate sound of it will encourage critics to engage. And that, he says, will benefit both critic and brand.
“There are far darker corners of the Internet, where things are said about companies, and they have a hard time responding,” Berard says.
“We hope consumers will see the dot- sucks platform not just as a place where they can make a comment, but where it will be heard.”
Not everyone agrees. “This kind of sucks,” says Fast Company. ( In fairness, media news site The Wrap said it “blows.”) British journalist Kevin Murphy, who specializes in the web- domain industry, is one of many writers and marketers who have called Vox’s business model “extortion.”
Andy Beal, CEO of North Carolina branding agency Reputation Refinery, advises companies to ignore dot- sucks. He notes cranky consumers can come at you from any platform, whether it’s a blog, Facebook, Twitter or Yelp.
But Ralph Nader disagrees. Back in 2000, the consumer advocate proposed three new non- profit domains: dot- sucks, dot- complaints and dot- is-not-fair. His plan was to create safe spaces for consumer feedback that would be owned by people, not institutions.
Berard found that letter while doing his research on dot- sucks, and contacted Nader to see if he still thinks it’s a good idea. Nader ended up receiving a “promotional fee” for endorsing Berard’s plan. A Vox promo video now includes Nader opining that “most of the great changes in our planet’s history come from less than one per cent of people. The word ‘ sucks’ now is a protest word. And it is up to people to give it more meaning.”
Berard declined to offer any sales projections, or even to say he knows of any company that intends to buy a dot- sucks domain to build its own protest platform. “We think the names are well priced for the extraordinary value they can deliver,” he says. “My hope is that other people will see in it what we see.”