The domain name .blog is a generic top level domain (gTLD) in the

Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed name service that provides a naming system for computers, services, and other resources on the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information ...

of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. Added in 2016, it is intended to be used for

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

History

In late 2013, due to concerns over "name collisions", wherein companies could potentially be using some proposed gTLDs internally for their use, the

ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is a global multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several dat ...

halted progression of .blog and 24 other proposed gTLDs pending further review. In 2015, the rights to the .blog TLD were auctioned off to Automattic Inc. for an estimated sum of US$19 million. The TLD became active on 12 May 2016. In 2019, it was announced that

Automattic Automattic Inc. is an American global distributed company most notable for WordPress.com and its contributions to the WordPress system. The company was founded in 2005. Automattic's brands and products include WordPress.com, Akismet, Gra ...

will switch its backend registry provider for its .blog from

Nominet Nominet UK is currently delegated by IANA to be the manager of the .uk domain name. Nominet directly manages registrations directly under .uk, and some of the second level domains .co.uk, .org.uk, .sch.uk, .me.uk, .net.uk, .ltd.uk and .plc.uk. ...

CentralNic Team Internet Group PLC (formerly named CentralNic Group PLC) is a British multinational internet services holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its subsidiaries provide services categorized in two segments: Online Marketing an ...

with the goal to further advance .blog through tools and services available from CentralNic.

References

Automattic Generic top-level domains {{Internet-stub