PINKY • BRAND

06/06/2026

Nordic Domain Days is a standout event in the domain industry and is always on my event-planning calendar. Ron Jackson, the long-time publisher of the respected DNJournal.com, delivers an excellent review of the 11th iteration of NDD held just a couple of weeks ago. I can attest — the energy was on!

Ever since Lars "LG" Forsberg founded the Nordic Domain Days (NDD) conference in 2015 the event has been on an unbroken upward trajectory. Boosted by its location in spectacularly scenic Stockholm, Sweden, the cultural and economic heart of Scandinavia, has certainly helped but the unique makeup of....

05/21/2026

After attending NDD in Stockholm next week, I will focus on the ICANN 86 Policy Forum in Seville. Please contact me to book a meeting!

04/30/2026

I can’t wait to get back to Stockholm for Nordic Domain Days 2026. It's always a blast to reconnect with friends from all corners of the domain world! So much is happening with AI, DNS abuse, and the next round of TLDs. I'm looking forward to a bunch of smart sessions, great conversations, and more than a few fika-fueled catch‑ups, not to mention a refreshing beverage or two! See you there!

04/30/2026

Earlier this week, Identity Digital launched DNSid, calling it a 'birth certificate for AI agents.' Meanwhile, GoDaddy has been advancing Agent Name Service (ANS). This post explores why agent identity matters and whether the industry can coalesce around standards before fragmentation becomes its own problem.
https://pinkybrand.com/2026/04/27/ai-dns-abuse-and-the-trust-problem-we-cannot-ignore/

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The same AI that makes it easy to build a legitimate online business also makes it trivial to spin up fake domains, cloned websites, and full marketing funnels in minutes. In this post I look at wh…

04/22/2026

The domain name game is shifting from ‘what’s available’ to ‘what signals identity and trust.’ My latest post breaks down three long‑term forces behind that shift, plus one speculative business model.

Every year this industry delivers at least one surprise that would have sounded crazy in January, yet some patterns keep showing up anyway. In this piece I look at three long‑term forces steering t…

04/19/2026

Nordic Domain Days brings together 400+ of the sharpest minds in the domain industry, representing 55+ nationalities, in one of the world's most beautiful cities. Having attended this event for several years, and with the 2026 TLD application round, AI agents, and DNS abuse trends front and center, I believe NDD 2026 in Stockholm will once again prove to be an intimate, educational, and exceptionally productive gathering. This one is not to be missed. Feel free to book a meeting with me at pinkybrand.com or just reach out directly. See you there!

03/12/2026

ICANN's next new gTLD application window opens April 30 and closes August 12. This round brings a real opportunity for the right applicants with the right business models. I shared some thoughts on who is best positioned to make the most of it.

https://pinkybrand.com/2026/03/12/new-gtlds-next-round-who-really-wins-this-time/

The application window opens April 30th and closes August 12, 2026. The strength of a string means very little without a sound strategy underneath it, and this round will reward those who figured t…

02/26/2026

Most 2026 dotBrand TLD conversations already cover the basics—trust, security, and timing. My article adds four questions that brands and their advisors can explore now to refine their strategy and set up a smoother path to success in the next round.

https://pinkybrand.com/2026/01/22/four-under-discussed-questions-brands-should-add-to-their-2026-dotbrand-decision-checklist/

I am not anti dotBrand; I am pro clear-eyed decisions, and here are four under discussed questions on governance, transitions, UX friction, and regulatory footprint worth adding to every 2026 dotBr…

02/20/2026

A must-read for anyone building or operating in the domain ecosystem. Especially registries and registrars, hosting providers, security teams, and AI platform builders. This blog post introduces iQ’s new Domain Intelligence Platform, a single API that turns any domain into a complete, actionable intelligence profile in seconds.​

If you are still stitching together WHOIS, DNS, screenshots, and reputation feeds, this illustrates what it looks like to replace that patchwork with one production-grade hub that powers abuse management, threat hunting, compliance, and AI-driven workflows at scale.

One API call for complete, production-grade domain intelligence. The same central hub that powers iQ Abuse Manager, now available as a commercial service.

02/13/2026

As you plan for the next wave of new gTLDs, it’s worth examining how much of your strategy depends on registrar channels. Registrars are an essential partner, but treating them as the only route to market can limit your options for building real demand. (This blog post was originally published in December, just before the break.)

The next round is coming. If you think landing enough registrars will magically make your new TLD a success, you’re betting your entire business on someone else’s shelf space.