Music History

The First .com Domain Was Registered 30 Years Ago Today

Great trivia question: who owned the very first .com domain? It went to a computer manufacturer named Symbolics, Inc. If you can connect to Symbolics.com now, you’ll find (allegedly) a site maintained by a Dallas investment group who feel they need to keep it alive as a matter of historical record. From CNN:

The first .com domain name — Symbolics.com — was registered March 15, 1985. Only five others joined it that year. It would take two years for the first 100 names to be registered, according to Verisign, the company that now manages the extension. But between 1995 and 2000 — the era of the “dot-com bubble” — registrations finally did take off, rocketing from 9,005 to more than 20 million.

Now just and find any combination of letters that haven’t been taken in conjunction with a .com suffix. Read more about this anniversary at CNN.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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One thought on “The First .com Domain Was Registered 30 Years Ago Today

  • Adding a musical angle to this (and heaven forbid it not involve Marillion)… Do you realize how long ago Marillion were using the Web to connect with their fans?

    Answer: I don’t know the exact date… but it WAS so long ago that they actually own the website “http://www.theweb-uk.com/”. That’s right… Marillion got in SO early they actually own the Uk URL “TheWeb”.

    (not much to see there now unless you are a registered member of the band’s fan club)

    And because one can never have enough music trivia: In addition to being a site on “the web”, the band’s site name actually refers to a track entitled “The Web” from their first studio album “Script for a Jester’s Tear”. (lyrics by Fish)

    Reply

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