With the Super Bowl right around the corner;  a hot, new Go Daddy .CO girl about to be "unveiled;" a full "make-over" for www.Opportunity.co  getting ready to roll; and a fantastic new consumer marketing campaign on the verge of launching  -- we've been busy bees around here!  So busy, in fact, that the word "busy" simply doesn't do the situation justice! 

Then heaped on top of all the excitement, comes even more good news.  On the heels of Overstock.com launching a global branding and television advertising campaign to spread awareness of the new O.CO   brand, we have been seeing more interest and excitement by corporate brands about the .CO domain extension than ever.  While we are still working through some of the details, in the coming weeks we expect to announce at least one -- possibly as many as three — uber exciting strategic deals with other big, world-leading brands. No clues just yet!

And now, here's the icing on the cake... As you may know, to kick off 2011 with a bang, we thought we would hold an auction for the "mac-daddy" of one letter domain names -- i.CO. As it turns out, the response to our outreach has been even better than we expected --  with well over a hundred businesses expressing different level of interest in the domain name — from big brands to entrepreneurial ventures.  

With so much interest — and not enough time to fully explore the various opportunities that have been presented in time —  it turns out that you actually can "have too much of a good thing!”  Since we care far more about ensuring that i.CO ends up in the best possible hands to maximize the domain’s value than we do about rushing a sale to fit into an arbitrary schedule, we have decided to cancel the planned auction date of February 3 – 9th. This will allow the good people at Moniker/SnapNames to continue to work their magic on our behalf by taking the full time necessary to explore the various opportunities that have and continue to be presented one by one — and to help us find the “right” home for this unique digital asset.

We knew from the start that i.CO would be hotly pursued. i is the shortest and most often-used word in the entire English language.  How many times have YOU said “i” today? I believe I said it twice already in this sentence alone!  At only 3 characters long -- i.CO is the shortest web address in the world and has the potential to create one of the most meaningful, memorable Internet brands in history. 

Internet, Interactive, Imagination, Idea, Innovation, Individual -- the opportunities for this name are Infinite!  

“I” for one can’t wait to see how this one ends!
 
Here's the “Alert” Moniker/SnapNames sent to all interested parties earlier today: 
Initial marketing and qualification efforts with respect to the i.CO premium domain auction have generated a tremendous level of interest from a diverse cross-section of businesses- from large multinational corporations to funded entrepreneurial ventures.   A significant number of these potential suitors have expressed an interest in acquiring the domain in a manner that would not fit within the confines of a traditional auction.  As a result, in consultation with the .CO Registry, we have concluded that the best way to maximize the potential value of i.CO (both for the Registry and the entire .CO community) would be via a strategic deal rather than a simple cash only transaction.  To that end, the auction originally planned for the 3rd to the 9th of February has been canceled so that we can fully explore the various opportunities with and on behalf of our client, the .CO Registry.

This decision comes on the heels of Overstock.com launching a global branding campaign to spread awareness of the new O.CO website as the "natural transition of the company's brand to a universally understandable and relevant domain" (x.co/Ltgh); and on the eve of a highly anticipated Super Bowl ad featuring the .CO extension. Interested parties should contact sales@moniker.com  or fill out the form on www.i.CO.