I was recently sent a document detailing all the international web domains by country. (Don’t ask why) So I am now the proud owner of a list that goes all the way from the Ascension Islands (.ac) to Zimbabwe (.zw). Reading through it gave me plenty of food for thought.

For instance, did you know that that Jersey (.je), Guernsey (.gg) and the Isle of Man (.im) have their own suffixes although they are part of the United Kingdom (.uk)? I certainly didn’t.

And did you know that .um was the domain suffix for United States Minor Outlying Islands? No? I’ve never heard of them either. The United States Minor Outlying Islands are in fact a group of islands, which includes Palmyra Atoll. None of the islands has any permanent residents - the population consisting of only temporarily stationed scientific and military personnel (316 at the last census!).

Looking at some of the more exotic and far-flung places in the directory reminded me of the island of Tuvalu and how its .tv suffix became quite a popular web domain for businesses in the world of television to adopt.

So how long before the following urls become sought after?

Cape Verde (.cv) – a must for recruitment consultants and headhunters

Croatia/Hrvatska (.hr) – for all Human Resources professionals

Guernsey (.gg) – for jockeys, horse breeders or bookmakers

Iraq (.iq) for Mensa members perhaps

Oman (.om) for practitioners of meditation

And finally Moldova (.md) for Managing Directors

More alternative uses for country code top-level domains will follow in a later blog. In the meantime, please send in any suggestions of your own.

Watching the BBC news this morning, I was outraged by Andy Burnham’s advice, or lack of it, regarding swine flu.  As someone who works in marketing and communications, delivering the right message, to the right person, at the right time, through the right channel is key.  Yet, our health secretary didn’t appear to answer a single straight question for all those baffled by the conflicting advice being propagated by our Government, health officials and other esteemed advisors in the media.  When asked how many people had died as a result of swine flu, who didn’t have previous underlying health problems, the health secretary failed to give the answer - apparently, the BBC news, watched by millions of concerned members of the public before they head out to work, wasn’t the time or place to provide an answer.

So, who should we turn to for answers?  One tip for pregnant women concerned about swine flu was to discuss it with their family.  So, if I have got it right, with the Government unable or unwilling to communicate facts and provide clear direction, pregnant woman are to make decisions based on chit chat, anecdotal stories and gut feelings?

I am sure that I am not alone in thinking that the Government’s communication strategy around swine flu is an exemplary example of how not to do it, am I?

Working with American technology-based clients consequently means working with our cousins from across the water. American Craig Storti’s book Americans at Work is very insightful. It offers advice for those who need to understand more about how Americans work and there are some fundamental differences. Beechwood has selected some direct quotes on the differences in business culture and they are found in one of our Thinklets. Enjoy!