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1. What Cyber-Price for a National
Identity?

2. This is a case of 'let the seller beware' ...

3. The tiny Polynesian island nation of Niue is beginning to
think it's been had.

4. Frankly, it's clear they didn't do their homework before
they did their deal.

5. Ironically, it seems the buyer hadn't really done his, either.

6. Anyone who has been inundated by advertisements for
'global domains' can easily understand that it's a
burgeoning business. The specter of purchasing a domain
at a much better price than the more common 'dot com'
or 'dot net' or 'dot org' is most attractive to most aspiring
entrepeneurs on limited budgets. This niche's market
leader is most likely Global Domains International
(GDI), which has no doubt put Western Samoa on the
mental map of many a cybernaut. The key element in that
deal is that the Western Samoan government granted the
rights to GDI in return for a royalty for every domain sold.

7. Niue's name is derived from the local language's phrase
for, "Look, a coconut!" It seems they should have used
theirs more thoroughly before signing a domain deal with
Bill Semich in 1998.

8. An American businessman whose former station was
editor for a computer magazine, Semich recognized the
potential value in the marketability of unique domains.
Apparently finding the 'nu' extension an attractive letter
combination, he signed a contract with the Niue
government that gave him the exclusive rights to it.

9. It wasn't a one-way deal. Semich guaranteed free wireless
access for all 2000 of Niue's citizens and he
delivered, completing the installation of an island-wide
network of translator towers in 2003. The country's
leaders surely felt they had provided their citizenry with a
service for the new century which would favorably
ensconce their place in island history.

10. Semich, meanwhile, intended to hawk his bargain
domains to Americans. He had no idea that his ideal
customers were in Sweden, where 'nu' is the local word
for 'now.'

13. All this commercial success has wrought concerns in Niue.
Not only is the disparity in financial benefit an issue, but
the island's strongly Christian residents are upset that 'dot
nu' has become a popular extension for pornographic
sites. Semich disavows any responsibility for this segment
of his clientele, but the fact remains that they are there.

14. The issue became such a political hot potato that 'neo-
colonialism' was a trendy charge in Niue's recent
elections. Semich seems shrewd enough to realize that
he's got the high ground in any bargaining that must be
done to assuage his Pacific partners, so a reasonable
solution will surely be attained.

15. This scenario underscores the all-encompassing scope of
cyberspatial commerce and the depth of considerations
that both buyer and seller must assess before entering
into far-reaching agreements. Not even the world's tiniest
nation --- and that's remote little blip-in-the-Pacific Niue --
- is immune from the effects.

16. The moral of the story, then, is to count your cyber-
coconuts before they're cracked open. They may be worth
more than you think.

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http://topcareersforthefuturelist.com/form.php?id=5742
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