New gTLD .BLOG entered general availability period on Monday. It's managed by Knock Knock Whois There (KKWT) registry, which is a subdivision of Automattic that owns the largest blogging platform WordPress. The launch of general availability period was somewhat marred because literally one day before the registry included several pre-ordered names to the list of names for its own use. KKWT explained that the misunderstanding occurred because the final list of names reserved by the registry had been approved for too long. (However, registrants that managed to pay in advance are going to be fully refunded).
Nevertheless, the launch itself was quite successful. As Domain Name Wire reports in the first 23 hours of general availability 19,035 names were registered in the .BLOG domain. Their total number (taking into account names registered during Landrush and Sunrise periods) is 21,115. These numbers confirm experts' predictions that from the very beginning viewed .BLOG as one of the most promising new gTLDs. The price of annual registration (not premium) is around $30.
