Celebrating 30 Years of Internet History, Happy Birthday ‘.com’

TECHCRIB NG – Thirty years ago, the .com Internet domain was born. In case you’re not familiar, the companies and organizations that hand out Internet addresses use top-level domains like .com to organize the addresses. While it seems difficult to remember a time when .COM didn’t exist, the exponential growth of the industry has been relatively recent. In 1985, only six domains were registered. That number grew to 223 in 1990 and 9,005 in 1995, but exploded to over 20 million in 2000. In early 2015, more than 116 million domains were registered.
On March 15, 1985, the first .COM was registered to symbolics.com. This turning point marked the beginning of an industry that revolutionized business and entertainment on an international level. Readily available information at our fingertips has dramatically impacted daily life. Today, nearly three billion users access .COM domains each day. From personal websites and dating sites to online shopping, social media, and news sites, the .COM invention sparked a variety of other domains, such as .EDU, .GOV, .NET and .ORG.

With more than 3 trillion users accessing sites each day, the .COM domain created a platform for some of the world’s most influential people and companies to showcase and promote their brands. Take a look at these stats of .COM users.
Geekzone reports that , From Amazon.com, which registered its domain name in 1994, and Google, which registered Google.com as a domain name in 1997, to small and mid-sized businesses more recently registered, such as Enduracenter.com, NaturallyCoolKids.com, or PantryFullofRecipes.com, which was registered in 2015, .COM is the global online standard for doing business. .COM addresses are your best choice for making your online identity recognizable, easily found and trusted on the global Internet which may now include products like those listed by the manufacturers rep.

“.COM is more than just an address. It’s a globally recognized and respected brand itself that nearly every major global brand, including 100 percent of the Fortune 500, has entrusted with their online presence,” said Jim Bidzos, executive chairman, president and chief executive officer at Verisign. “.COM turning 30 represents a shared milestone for us all and a celebration worth commemorating.”

While Internet growth and adoption has been primarily concentrated in North America for the last 30 years, today, Internet users in North America account for 19 percent of the total number of Internet users globally. As global Internet adoption and growth is accelerating outside of North America, .COM’s global brand appeal, instant recognizability and rapid growth in overseas markets illustrates .COM’s growth in parallel with Internet adoption.