ReadWriteWeb

ICANN, the not-for-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers that has managed domain names on the Internet since 1998, just announced that it has reached a new deal with the US Department of Commerce that will allow it to operate as a more independent entity. Other governments and the private sector will now have a greater say in how domains will be managed. The Commerce Department will continue to hold a seat on ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee, but it's influence will now be on par with that of other members of the organization.

As proven by last month's Facebook Vanity URL rush, there's value in personal domain names. As an answer to brand protection across multiple networks, DandyID is launching ClaimMyName at around 3pm this afternoon. The site allows users to register their custom URLs across hundreds of social networking and social media sites for a fee. And the service certainly doesn't come cheap to individuals. The 20 domain starter pack costs $80 and the 300 domain pro pack is $699. Then again, when has security ever been sold at cut rate prices? Essentially this is a seemingly easy way for companies and individuals to mitigate risk; however, when there is no verification process to keep out squatters, the system can definitely backfire.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is considering sweeping changes to the way top-level domains (TLDs) are assigned. Under this newly proposed plan, any organization could apply for any top-level domain (ICANN calls these new domain names generic TLDs). Google, for example, could get a .google domain, or Coke products might be found under .coke. If accepted, this would be the most significant modification of the TLD naming system yet.

Update: ICANN just approved these changes.