(April 11, 2005) - Employ Media and SHRM are the net beneficiaries of a new domain extension.  Here's the proposal as submitted and approved by ICANN (the folks who "manage" the internet). Here's the press release from the newswire and ICANN's own announcement.

The new .jobs extension (like .com, .org or .net) is supposed to have the potential to "revolutionize" online job posting. Somehow, a segregated extension is going to make it easier for job hunters to find job listings. Just imagine, now instead of going to visit microsoft.com/jobs, surfers will be able to visit microsoft.jobs saving four keystrokes per site. Monster.com might have to spend $35 to purchase Monster.jobs.

The extra keystroke is predicted to shift the landscape.

According to one industry commentator, "the new naming system will change the recruitment landscape, giving job-seekers more control over the search and application than they have ever had. This gives job-seekers their own customized, personalized job board. It will give them exactly what they want. It could very easily take the (commercial) job boards out of the picture if they don't figure out how to work with it."

What was (s)he smoking? It's a tax on companies that creates the opportunity to move employment sections to a domain level. Is that a good idea? Does that produce additional value?

Those are not the sort of questions answered by ICANN. The Employ Media FAQ doesn't do much more than muddy the unclear water.

We've followed the progress of this idea over years, even agreeing to one of the few non-disclosure agreements we've ever signed. Although we're surprised that it has actually come to pass, Ray Fassett, CEO of Employ Media is a determined and persistent evangelist. We pooh-poohed it the first times we heard it. We're still not all that sure.

The biggest single gotcha that we can see is the requirement that .jobs domains may only be purchased by a "Qualified Applicant" who is "an individual employed by, or acting on behalf of, an organization charged with recruitment responsibilities, who at a minimum abides by the SHRM Code of Professional Ethics." Either it's a nonsense requirement or SHRM is planning to audit the ethics of all hiring entities in the world.

We do see some potential for positive developments. Tomorrow, we'll look at the benefits of having top level domain status.

John Sumser

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