So just where am I? Why have I gone to Buenos Aires?

Let me rewind a bit.

Many years ago I went to register my first domain: www.swim.com.au

I was told I couldn’t have it as it was a “dictionary word”. That was an early auDA rule. But that’s the name of my business? After a short arm wrestle, it was awarded to me by Melbourne IT – the only place you could register domains at that stage.

I learnt very early that domain names were powerful beyond their cost.

It’s the online home of our businesses.

For a digital communications agency, like SWiM, it’s often where our work starts: domain selection and registration.

The work flows from there: website design and development, social media works, email campaigns, online advertising and the offline works that support those efforts.

So, understanding the domain landscape, puts you in a strong position to influence digital works at their genesis.

In an effort to learn more, I became a member of auDA, the .au Domain Authority. I joined WIPA, the Web Industry Professionals Association, and AWIA, the Australian Web Industry Association as well. I wanted to differentiate my business as more informed and better credentialed than other web developers. Get an industry education. I still see this as my own PD.

After a few years, I ran for AWIA committee and was awarded Vice Chairman. Buoyed by this success, I ran for election to the auDA board and scraped in by 1 vote. I am fortunate to hold this position for a two year term.

auDA has been kind enough to allow me to attend ICANN’s 3^rd meeting for 2013.

What happens at ICANN?

Well, the fact is most people don’t care.

You turn on your computer or smartphone and the Internet just works. Everywhere.

If it stopped working, you’d want to know why? Did they pay the power bill? What went wrong? Who’s running it?

Loosely speaking, it’s ICANN.

But ICANN is the sum total of many parts. The Internet is run under what is labeled a “multi-stakeholder model”. A collaboration of many different boards, panels and organisations working for the greater good, so we can all access and use the Internet. To explain this fully takes a whole website. So please visit theirs: www.icann.org.

So this is my small contribution to my industry and our Internet.