Everyone Wants a Piece of .ME.

Catchy ccTLD Sells for Big Bucks and Makes Bold Branding Statements

PODGORICA, Montenegro -- The .ME Registry is celebrating significant success in its most recent online auction. NameJet([R]) auctioned off 15 premium .ME domains between Sept. 25and Oct. 2. The results certainly suggest .ME is a popular and valuable commodity in the world of domain extensions. Among the biggest sellers, Friend.Me sold for $21,000 and Host.Me sold for $15,200.

The popularity and increasing value of the .ME extension is not surprising when you take a closer look at how people and businesses around the world are using this ccTLD to send a message on the Web.

WhyHire.Me is a Web site, launched in North America, to help students and graduates get noticed by potential employers. A college professor and two software professionals developed the site. Now, several universities are using the portal and curriculum to teach students about new media and online personal branding.

"As an educator and brand marketer, I seek out the clearest possible message," says Patti Church, one of the co-founders of WhyHire.Me. "No one can dispute the value and clarity of what our brand name communicates or what dot-ME offers our students and subscribers who use it to build their own online brand."

Another Web site taking advantage of the "me" message is Missouri.Me. The U.S. geo-targeted site encourages Web visitors to use Missouri.Me as a "one-stop shopping" location for anything they want to know and any resource they need within that state. Localtek, the brains behind the Missouri site, is set to launch its second endeavor, Oklahoma.Me, within weeks, and 25 other state-focused sites with .ME extensions are planned.

"Since we are focused on creating a connection between rural U.S. Internet users and their local communities, it is important for our sites to feel personalOdot-ME does just that," says Bruce Marler of Missouri.Me. "Dot-ME is the greatest online personal branding tool that has been created. People feel they are really connected with the individual developing their blog, resume or other presence online, and corporations, like ours, have the ability to use strong call to action dot-ME names to develop a Web presence with an individual connection."

"These kinds of entrepreneurs are at the heart of dot-ME's success," notes Predrag Lesic, Executive Director of the .ME Registry. "Because we realize the infinite opportunities that exist for the use of dot-ME, the Registry is now encouraging anyone with a good idea and a strong business plan to approach us about using a dot-ME domain in an entrepreneurial venture. Sites like WhyHire.Me and Missouri.Me are prime examples of how and why dot-ME is a pivotal part of the Internet."

For other examples and articles about the many clever uses of .ME, visit ExploreTheWorldOf.Me. To learn more about the .ME Registry, developing a .ME business idea or to find out how to register a .ME domain, go to www.Domain.Me.

About the .ME Registry:

.ME Registry (the d.b.a. of doMEn, d.o.o.) was chosen by the government of Montenegro to operate the new .ME domain name extension. .ME Registry partners include ME-net, GoDaddy.com and Afilias Limited. Me-Net is located in Montenegro and its principals have been leaders in the ICT sector in Montenegro, including the privatization of its largest ISP. GoDaddy.com is located in the USA and is the world's largest domain name registrar and the largest paid hostname provider in the world, according to Netcraft Ltd. Afilias Limited is headquartered in Ireland and is a leading registry services provider, supporting more than 15 million domains worldwide.