Product Management Archives

The (im)perfect domain to fight food waste.

Alvin BrownJanuary 16, 2020Leave a comment

Reading Time | 2 Minutes

Would you buy and have grocery items delivered to you if it saved you up to 30% more than national supermarket chains?

We’re a family of five, with three kids at or under the age of 7 — 7, 5, and 3, to be exact. Two years ago, my family found itself in the throws of navigating life with a 5, 3, and 1-year-old.

During this “wilderness” experience of roughly 3-4 years without venturing out to restaurants due to the possibility of a cataclysmic meltdown or any delay, my wife certainly got intimately familiar with food and grocery delivery services.

Fast forward a few years, and food and grocery delivery services are every mother’s dream come true, especially for a mother of young children.

Like any other fast-growing metropolis, Austin is home to a number of varying food and grocery delivery service providers.

I recently discovered one of these service providers — conveniently parked next to my car — as I jumped into my car to travel home from receiving a haircut at a local barbershop.

Domain Sightings and Georgia On My Mind.

Alvin BrownNovember 27, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 4 Minutes

A few nights ago, a customer and long-time friends of my wife and I treated us to a double date of the Long Center presented Georgia On My Mind: A Celebration of Ray Charles and His Music.

The night was a walk down memory lane of Ray Charles’ catalog of greatest hits performed by highly esteemed, award-winning artists and musicians — Clint Holmes, Nnenna Freelon, Tom Scott, and Take 6.

Domains in them thar West Virginian hills.

Alvin BrownOctober 31, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 6 Minutes

It’s been nearly 10 years since my wife and I had the opportunity to venture east, visiting the scenic natural beauty of them thar hills and mountains of West Virginia.

Ten years ago, we excitedly watched our friends take the plunge into marriage. Fast forward a decade later, 6 kids in between our families, and a timely football game between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Longhorns of the University of Texas at Austin.

Austin-based Brands Increasingly Choose New Domain Extensions.

Alvin BrownOctober 17, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 9 Minutes

Each month I’m amazed to discover a small but growing number of Austin-based companies branding domains using new top-level extensions — the good, bad, and ugly.

Rummaging through the last 6 editions of the Community Impact Newsletter (CIN )for Northwest Austin, I’ve discovered breweries, pet shops, fitness brands, summer camps, and entertainment venues among the early adopters.

If you can’t beat .com, join .us!

Alvin BrownSeptember 19, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 8 Minutes

With almost 400 million domains registered worldwide, there is no shortage of decent domain name registrations, especially with 1400+ new domain extensions to choose from and speculation of more to hit the market beyond 2020.

There are approximately 145 million .com domains (~35%) registered worldwide. Most people will likely guess .net and .org to be respectively 2nd and 3rd in line behind .com, accounting for 5-10% of .com registrations. But believe it or not, both extensions are, respectively, 5th and 7th.

The general internet population, especially within the United States, is likely to be amazed that most domains registered worldwide are ccTLD domains — country code top-level domains.

A Perfectly Seasoned .co Digital Presence

Alvin BrownSeptember 12, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 3 Minutes

It’s not everyday that I stumble upon a .co domain in the wild, especially a one-word .co domain in use by a thriving startup.

Once the darling and preferred domain extension for startups, .co — the country code top-level domain of Colombia — has seen its day come and ago nearly a decade after restrictions were lifted, allowing anyone in the world to stake their claim to a .co domain name.

A few years into the Great Recession, a growing number of cash-strapped startups choose .co domains due to an expensive and crowded .com namespace, and the relative ease of finding a simple, catchy one-word .co domain without breaking the bank.

.brand domains: to be or not to be?

Alvin BrownJuly 5, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 3 Minutes

In 2010, a growing list of well-known brands began to speculate on the future of the internet and its hopeful acceptance of new domain extensions.

While .com and other legacy domain extensions have long been accepted, many of the brands couldn’t turn a blind eye to the possibility of .brand domains becoming the next big thing to hit the tech world since the internet itself.

Is that a .forum web address?

Alvin BrownMay 3, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 2 Minutes

It’s that time of year where “Summer Fever” is beginning to set in as we transition from Spring.

At the same time, April showers have brought May flowers as well as NBA Playoff games.

Just the other night, I happened to have the TV on as background noise as the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks Game 2 was nearing the end.

As I happened to glance up from solving a challenging coding issue, I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I noticed what looked to be a new domain extension being advertising on the Bucks hardwood floor. Could it be true?

The URL Extension to .Watch for Watch Making, Video, Gaming, and News

Alvin BrownApril 25, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time | 3 Minutes

When you have 3 kids six and under, then there is likely a chance that YouTube for Kids isn’t far from being a daily part of your life — whether 30 minutes, the whole day, or somewhere in between that expansive time range.

This given morning as I retreated from our bedroom to start our day with family prayer, and head off to the office for a days work, I paused a video my kids were held captive by.

In most cases, I’m not held captive by the same material, but this day was a bit different when my eyes landed on what looked to be a new domain extension: .watch.