Google Acquires G.CO to Launch Official Shortcut for Google Products and Services; 500 Startups to Rebrand Web Address from 500Startups.com to 500.CO
By .co Internet S.a.s, PRNESunday, July 17, 2011
MOUNTAINVIEW, California, July 18, 2011 -
Today .CO Internet S.A.S. announced that Google has acquired the
domain name G.CO and will use the URL to more easily connect,
communicate and engage with customers by launching an official
shortcut for Google’s products and services. The Registry
also announced that well-known Silicon Valley Seed Fund and
Incubator, 500 Startups, will be rebranding its web address from
500Startups.com to 500.CO.
Just days ahead of the one year anniversary of the public launch
of the .CO domain, on July 20th, 2011, momentum
continues to be strong as world-leading companies and entrepreneurs
increasingly embrace the .CO platform. Since it launched, the .CO
domain has attracted more than one million registrations by
individuals, organizations and businesses in more than 200
countries worldwide, including major brands like Twitter, Amazon
and Overstock - and hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs around
the globe.
In an announcement on the official
Google Blog today, Gary Briggs, Google’s VP of Consumer
Marketing, announced that G.CO would soon be the “official URL
shortcut for Google websites.” Only Google will be able to
create G.CO shortcuts, says Briggs; that means “you can visit a
G.CO shortcut confident you will always end up at a page for a
Google product or service.”
Increasingly considered to be a strategic digital asset by
brands seeking to attract and engage consumers online, Briggs noted
that “[i]n the world of URLs, bigger is not always better,” and
that “the shorter a URL, the easier it is to share and remember.”
“We are thrilled to have Google join the select group of premium
Internet brands that are using the .CO domain to innovate online,”
said Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet SAS. ”By featuring
G.CO in its product and service marketing efforts worldwide, we are
confident that Google will help to drive massive awareness and
adoption of the .CO domain extension in the years ahead.”
On a related note, Silicon Valley seed fund and incubator, 500
Startups, also
today that it will be rebranding its web address from
500Startups.com to 500.CO this Fall. Founded by Internet
entrepreneur, Dave McClure, 500 Startups has become one of the most
prolific forces in today’s startup ecosystem, currently operating
over 150 companies spanning five continents.
“.CO is quickly becoming the hot new geek TLD in Silicon
Valley,” said McClure, in a blog post today on the 500 Startups
blog. ”At 500 Startups we focus on doing things faster,
making cycle time shorter, and simplifying brand - we know no one
will care about your product if it’s not fast, easy-to-use, and
memorable. We want to OWN the brand 500, and 500.CO helps us get
there.”
“From the very beginning, .CO was built by entrepreneurs, for
entrepreneurs,” said Lori Anne Wardi, Vice President of .CO
Internet SAS. ”By making 500.CO its online brand, 500
Startups will role model to entrepreneurs in every corner of the
world that .CO is the premium domain of choice to build the next
generation of great companies online.”
“With .CO, startups can launch businesses and brands on a short,
cool, credible domain name — without having to shell out a million
bucks to do it,” says McClure. “That’s why we recommend .CO to
companies in our portfolio, and why 500startups.com is moving to
500.CO.”
About .CO Internet S.A.S.
.CO Internet S.A.S. is the Registry Operator for the .CO
top-level domain. The .CO domain offers individuals,
organizations and businesses a truly global, recognizable and
credible web address for branding their online presence. Thanks to
leading-edge technology, enhanced security and unprecedented rights
protections, the .CO domain is poised to become the world’s next
premier web address. For more information about the .CO Registry,
please visit www.Opportunity.co — or follow us on Twitter
@dotCO.
Andrew Robertson / t: +44(0)20-3047-2302 | m: +44(0)7811-341-945
Tags: .co Internet S.a.s., california, July 18, Mountainview
