WIRED magazine feature on TLDs

This summer, WIRED magazine sent me to ICANN86 in Spain to learn about top-level domains and the people who make them. The story—published online this morning and soon in print—was a pleasure to report and write.

Its release is timely: Tomorrow, ICANN will reveal 1,600+ new potential alternatives to .com, like .agent and .meow. As I’ve written about before, anyone had the chance to apply for new .words this year, for the first time since 2012. Tomorrow we’ll learn if heavy hitters from 2012 like Google and Amazon are involved again; whether the AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic made any moves; which cities and regions applied for geoTLDs like .nyc; what communities and nonprofits applied; and any more long tail and bizarre applications like .fart (really).

The story is just over 4,000 words. It’s the best approximation yet of what my book will be like—interviews with primary sources, thoroughly researched and fact checked, real narrative nonfiction with characters and scenes. I hope you enjoy reading, and if you do, consider forwarding to a friend.

-Pete