Personalised email addresses 'crucial for firms'

Companies should be looking to use their email addresses to promote their activities, one internet expert has claimed.

New Zealand domain name commissioner Debbie Monahan told the NZ Herald that by opting to name themselves after their internet service provider (ISP), many firms are missing a great opportunity to express themselves online.

An example of such an address would be [company name]@[ISP] – with the end result being a weak branding and lack of flexibility, she suggested.

She commented: "The internet was custom-made for building identities, not only because a name is far more personal than a number, but because the technology itself supports transportability of identity across providers.

Personalised email addresses allow firms to move from one ISP to another, maintaining their identity in the process, Ms Monahan added.

"ISP-specific addresses make it harder to swap provider without the hurdles of informing all your contacts, changing stationery and so forth, not to mention all those email addresses you've placed in online services such as Google, Facebook and Twitter," she said.

Ultimately, the ability to pick and choose with ease is "at the core of good competition", Ms Monahan claimed.

In other domain name consultancy news, VeriSign reported that the number of domain names registered in the second quarter of 2009 grew by one per cent.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry