As the Internet becomes central to civic, commercial, community, and cultural life, those with the best tools and understanding of its capabilities will prosper. Our mission is to prepare the city for the networked future. To do so, we will use the .nyc TLD (like .com, .org, and .gov but just for NYC) to educate and empower New York City’s residents and organizations to better connect with one another and the world.

Connecting.nyc Inc. is the New York State not-for-profit formed by residents intent on having .nyc viewed as as digital infrastructure supportive of businesses, city institutions, civic organizations, and residents; and to have it developed in the public interest.

We’re fighting an uphill battle as city TLDs are a new concept – we’re hoping .nyc will be the first city TLD; and we need to convince city residents and the ICANN – the entity that issues TLDs – that an intelligently planned and managed TLD is central to effectively and efficiently running a city in a digital era.

Take a look at our wiki’s 150+ pages that instruct and inform and invite user contributions (to edit them you must first join our project).

Each wiki page is linked to one of the following Key Pages.

• The TLD Acquisition Campaign – The .nyc TLD’s acquisition effort requires that we develop support here in New York City and convincingly present our goals and capabilities to the organization that issues new TLDs, the ICANN.
• Mission & Objectives – Why we exist and what we hope to accomplish.
• The Operating Environment – Issuing names, operating the registry, maintaining a directory, and creating a safe communications environment that benefits all New Yorkers is our key mission.
• Domain Name Allocation Plan – Help decide which domain names will be set aside for public use, for operational purposes, for auction, or distributed on a first come first served basis.
• The Development Environment – Here we will explore personal, family, civic, community, and business networking applications that might help create a more livable city. Should security and privacy be our highest development priority? Where should education, training, and access be on our priority list? Help decide.
• Governance – Like the air, water, streets, and schools the .nyc TLD is a commons that will best serve city residents when an informed public is fully engaged in its governance. See our plans, our board, and our founder’s statement.
• FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about the .nyc TLD.
• Towards City-TLDs in the Public Interest – A White Paper (or download it here) – A primer about the impact TLDs have had on cities and the special advantages that will arise with their operation in the public interest.
• Connecting.nyc Inc.’s Home Page
• Our Blog

For more on our effort see our wiki and blog. Send inquiries to info@connectingnyc.org.