Brian Cute, CEO of the PIR Speaks to the Computer Jagat
.NGO: A Domain Extension of Trust and Visibility for NGOs
Interviewed By Muhammad Jabed Morshed Chowdhury
Brian Cute, CEO of the Public Interest Registry (PIR), which has managed the .ORG domain name for more than a decade. He tells about PIR’s efforts to apply for a .NGO domain extension (and its equivalent in several languages) to better serve the global nonprofit community, in an interview with Muhammad Jabed Morshed Chowdhury of Computer recently.
He made us Known that Brian Cute joined the Public Interest Registry (PIR) as CEO in 2011, backed by more than 12 years of experience in the Internet and communications industry. Prior to joining PIR, Brian Cute served as a vice president of discovery services for Afilias, the world’s leading provider of Internet infrastructure solutions that connect people to their data and the registry systems provider to PIR for the .ORG domain. His experience within the domain name system (DNS) runs deep, having held management positions with both a leading domain name registrar, Network Solutions, as director of policy, and a leading registry, VeriSign, as vice president of government relations until 2003.
Here is the excerpt of his interview:
Jabed Morshed (JM) : Tell us about the .org ?
Brian: The domain name .org is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of the Domain Name System (DNS) used in the Internet. The name is truncated from organization. It was one of the original domains established in 1985 and operated by the Public Interest Registry since 1988. The domain extension was originally created for non-profits, but this designation no longer exists and today it is commonly used by schools, open-source projects, and communities as well as by for-profit entities.
JM: You are also very active in recent campaign for .ngo domain extension. Tell our readers about this initiative.
Brian: eNGO is working for last few years with the NGOs around the world. eNGO is helping them to use ICT in their organization and to reach their target people. We are now working to bring all the NGOs around the world under one umbrella, .ngo.
JM: That is great. But how NGOs can be benefited from this service?
Brian: From the discussion with the NOGs, we came to know about their two major problems : Trustworthiness and Visibility. .ngo will help them to overcome these two problems.
This new domain extension will help identify and distinguish any Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) as a validated organization within the crowded digital world. .ngo will be exclusively available to the NGO community, requiring validation for local, national and global NGOs.
Secondly, .ngo is complemented by .ong, the translated equivalent for regions where Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese) are most prevalent. .ngo and .ong are sold as a package; by registering the .ngo domain, you will also reserve the same name in .ong, and vice versa.
Beyond the validation, as a .ngo|.ong domain holder, NGOs are automatically entered into our exclusive online NGO directory, which includes a customizable online profile for the NGOs. This profile will help NGOs find and share information with other NGOs across the globe, promote any NGO to their potential donors and partners, interact with like-minded organizations, and raise funds online to support their cause. This NGO directory will revolutionize the way that NGOs around the world connect.
JM: Security is always a big concern in cyber world. As all the NGOs are hosting their information in your servers, what will be the security measures from your side?
Brian: Very important question. Yes, we are concern about this situation. We have taken state-of-the-art technical security measures in our servers and network. In our system, every NGO will get their own account and can only insert or edit and delete information using their username and password. One NGO cannot access the content of other NGO. It will be under the continuous monitoring of a dedicated security expert team.
JM: How much any NGO have to pay for this service?
Brian: NGOs only have to pay 49 USD to have the services (domain and directory).
JM: When will you start the registration of .ngo domain?
Brian: We are planning to start registering the domain from January, 2015.
JM: What is your response, especially in Bangladesh?
Brian: To be true we have got huge positive response, wherever we went around the world. Having said that, the community in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Kenya and South Africa is very vibrant and active.
In Bangladesh, the response is unbelievable. The NGO community in Bangladesh is one of the best in the world. They work in diverse field with visible positive impact in the society. Bangladesh has achieved many global social goals and many of its credits should go to the NGOs of Bangladesh. Most importantly, Bangladesh is in the process of digitalizing its society and NGO are taking active part in it. .ngo will definitely help them to achieve their mission. We have already actively in connection with more than 200 NGOs in Bangladesh and numbers are growing day by day. We are also collaborating with our local partner here to reach all the NGOs in the country