Think local, the introduction of puntFRL and dotAmsterdam
Introducing unique domain extensions
In 2015, we introduced the domain extension for Friesland. Within a year, we also introduced dotAmsterdam, the domain name for Amsterdam. The preparations for the launch of these domain extensions started almost three years earlier. After reading an article about a group of Frisians that had applied for a domain extension for Friesland but who were now having troubles about getting things financed, the idea came to mind that we might take over this adventure. With his backpack, Henri went to Friesland to meet with the Frisians. There he found a group of enthusiastic developers that wanted to start a special place on the internet to help extend the Frisian identity online.
The Frisian government had second doubts about the business case and were not ready to fund this mission. We were able to take over the project and took the risk of the technical application and market introduction.The Frisian government was happy that we were willing to support the initiative and kept their word in supporting the project. The market introduction was being executed by a corporation of various Frisian marketing and communication firms that all believed in the mission of putting Friesland on the map digitally. The launch was a great success. Within a few months more than 15 thousand .frl domains were registered. And the province of Friesland is still using their .frl, fryslan.frl, with pride.
The experience we got from the introduction of .frl, was happily used with the introduction of .amsterdam in the coming period. In close collaboration with SIDN and the municipality of Amsterdam, this domain extension was successfully brought into the market. Around 30 thousand .amsterdam domains were registered at the introduction. With Amsterdam being even more famous than The Netherlands, it was now possible to claim your own piece of Amsterdam online.
