Top 10: .Asia domains
Over the years there have been numerous exciting .Asia domains set up. One of the earliest examples was Johnny Walker’s KeepWalking.Asia as part of an Asia wide TV and online campaign in 2008. Even though the domain is no longer operational, it inspired our continued tracking of live .Asia websites through the KeepClicking.Asia initiative, now integrated with our main site and social media page: http://www.facebook.asia/dot.asia.
Here are my Top 10 picks (at the moment… as it certainly changes all the time) of high traffic .Asia domains that exemplify or showcase how .Asia domains can be used.
10. www.cha-shu-mau.asia
Opting to use .Asia over the more “.com”mon TLDs since 2008, Cha-Shu-Mau.asia is a website for a Hong Kong memorabilia shop in Japan. Not only does it exemplify the use of .Asia in its cross border scope as a small business, Cha-Shu-Mau also sparked our investigation which uncovered an important realization. People choose “.Asia” over “.com” when they want to express “Asia” in their domain name: there are only around 50,000 “.com” domains with “Asia” in their name and over 200,000 .Asia domain names registered!
9. www.livenation.asia
Live Nation is a worldwide concert and show promotion company. LiveNation.asia was one of the first live .asia domains in 2008. It has since inspired many lifestyle and showbiz domains under .Asia, such as DivaTV.asia, Bandwagon.asia, and MSpace.asia to name a few. The success of LiveNation.asia also ignited our own investment into supporting AsianFilmAwards.asia, DonnieYen.asia, and a variety of other entertainment and fan sites.
8. www.mmog.asia
With eSports confirmed as a medal sport in the 2022 Asian Games, the online games industry is soaring to new heights around Asia. Since 2008, MMOG.asia has been consistently among the top .asia domains, leading the way for many other eSports platforms on the .Asia TLD, such as GAM3.asia, WorldOfTanks.asia, WorldOfWarships.asia, etc.
Related: .Asia staff’s post on Top 10: eSports teams
7. www.happyhappyjoyjoy.asia
The use of .Asia for restaurant sites is a familiar concept, with Sakura-Cafe.asia in use since 2008. However, HappyHappyJoyJoy.asia takes this even further, as an example of the .asia domain name used outside Asia. The Amsterdam eatery features the turbulent streets, rich flavors and bright colors… everything that makes you happy in Asia. From the Worlds50Best.Asia to the amazing omega-3 pork from FlodinsFood.asia, the Michelin starred Bacchanalia.asia to the local produce of Kuromame.asia to the nightlife of PlayClub.asia, the richness of Asian culture and food is amplified on .Asia.
6. www.development.asia
DotAsia’s vision to support regional collaboration and development is embodied in Development.asia, an initiative of the Asian Development Bank. Started in 2008, Development.asia is a sharing platform for knowledge solutions through case studies, policy briefs and online courses providing insights for discussion of complex issues regarding international development. Along with Development.asia, many other .Asia domains support important social development work in Asia and beyond, including HumanRights.asia, ADRC.asia, AYC.asia, IIAS.asia and many more.
5. www.socialventurechallenge.asia
Coming in at #5 is another domain that chooses .Asia over other “.com”mon names. SocialVentureChallenge.asia is an amazing Asia-wide competition for social enterprises, jointly organised by NUS (National University of Singapore) Enterprise and DBS Foundation. Even when the corresponding “.com” domain is available, a .Asia domain is preferred because the name signifies a more relevant context. This leads the way for startups and related initiatives such as: Ladyboss.asia, StartupJobs.asia, Hometouch.asia, JFDI.asia, and samurai-incubate.asia in embracing the .Asia identity.
4. www.animefestival.asia
Events related to or targeting the Asia market find their home at .Asia. AnimeFestival.asia has served as a prime example since 2009. Many other conferences and events such as AllThatMatters.asia, JSconf.asia, PR360.asia, Spikes.asia, Tangrams.asia (formerly Asian Marketing Effectiveness and Strategy Awards), as well as sporting events: KiteBoardTour.Asia, AsianPremierLeague.asia, JrNBA.asia, and so many others are proudly featuring their .Asia domain name.
3. www.AMZN.asia
Coming to the Top 3, functional usage of .Asia domains captures the future of domain names in my mind. Prolifically used as an archival URL and short URL by Amazon Japan, AMZN.asia epitomizes this socio-technical utilization of .Asia domains. There was a time when domain usage was judged by “unique websites”, but we are now well beyond that. Domain names provide a technically robust, user and developer friendly name for resource distribution and management. URL shorteners are just one of the many creative uses of domain names employed by AMZN.asia and others such as CNA.asia of Channel News Asia, TTN.asia from Tan Tan News, etc.
2. www.art-it.asia
It is hard to beat seeing a .Asia domain name used in print and on billboards. Started in 2009, ART-IT.asia was a precursor of many other media publications to embrace a .Asia domain: MensUno.asia, BusinessTravellers.asia, GOW.asia, TheAsiaN.asia, MiceTimes.asia, DivaTV.asia, FINews.asia, Knowing.asia and so on. The testimonial usage of .Asia domains by media and public relations professionals: BrandStory.asia, SPRG.asia, MadHat.asia, Mumbrella.asia, WhyNot.asia, Kyu.asia, etc. has significantly helped drive the trend setting utilization of .Asia domains.
1. www.大閘蟹.asia
At the top of my list is a domain combining 2 of my favourite aspects and soft spots in domain utilization: 1. IDN (internationalized domain names) and 2. social / micro site forwarding; and intersects with my passion for food. 大閘蟹.asia is the perfect use of domain names by an aspiring SME to retake control of its online space while fully exploiting social media platforms. This same technique is utilized by global brands such as DBS.asia and also reimagined by SocialPage.asia, which is one of the fastest growing .Asia domains.
Top 10: eSports teams
Claiming the World Championship titles in 2013, 2015, 2016 and now among favourites for 2017, SKT is all too obvious as the choice for top spot. While they suffered from a slump in 2014, SKT’s star player Faker, argued by some to be the most dominant player of all time has stayed with the team throughout his dazzling career. SKT have already forged a lasting legend for themselves; winning this season’s championship would only push it to the next level.
Top 10: Modern history’s Asian political giants
Asia is the largest and most populous continent. Throughout Asian history, there have been several political figures who have been extremely influential in shaping the region. How could I miss this opportunity to list some of the most notable and influential Asian figures in recent history? This is my list of “Asian Political Giants of Modern History”.
Top 10: Cartoons from Asia
No childhood is complete without hours spent watching cartoons (especially in the 80s)! Here, in my opinion, are the top 10 cartoon / anime characters from Asia! If you are looking to experience Anime culture live, check out animefestival.asia.
Top 10: Asian movies
As a movie lover, it’s always hard to pick the top 10. Frankly speaking, if there is no year limitation (2017), I would definitely have a wider selection.
A movie is not just a form of entertainment, it can also inspire people and even influence an individual’s way of thinking. So here is my top 10 without any specific ranking orders:
Top 10: Business trip destinations around Asia
Having been with .Asia for the best part of 10 years now, I have had the honor of traveling around the region, building relationships and increasing the awareness of the domain extension. Here are my top 10 places I have visited in the region.
Top 10: Asian superstitions
Like many other Asians, I grew up in a traditional household and my elders – from my grandmother to my mom (to think of it, maybe it was just the women) are highly superstitious. They told me the craziest things! I didn’t want to believe in them, but I wasn’t going to take any chances so I followed those rules. To this day, even though I still don’t believe in those superstitions, I catch myself passing them onto my own daughter. At the very least, they ARE an excellent way to get her to follow rules.
Top 10: Superfoods
I started falling in love with concept of “food as medicine” since my childhood when I was inspired by “The Huangdi Neijing” (a.k.a The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine 黃帝內經). Later when I started exploring more from the school library, I found that the Greek physician Hippocrates, known as the Father of Early Medicine (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) had suggested the same concept around the same period of time. He stated “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This has become my creed of life as eating right is really important! Here are my top 10 choices for super foods.
Top 10: Exotic foods in Asia
While I claim myself as an adventurous foodie, I have to firstly put out a disclaimer that these 10 exotic foods may be only baby level for some while daring for others – especially westerners. This is just a snapshot of my personal top 10 for exotic Asian foods (that I’ve tried). My list will begin with #10 for least adventurous to #1 for most daring dishes. So here we go…
Top 10: Asian athletes
I have always wanted to be an athlete since a very young age, but growing up in a traditional Chinese family, school always came first and there was only just enough room to do sports recreationally. It always makes me proud to see how Asian athletes are making a name for themselves in their respective sports. They have the powerful ability to inspire many more kids, including other Asians to start young. Here are my top 10 Asian athletes of all time that I think have been very influentia
Top 10: Asian musicians
In the face of declining global music sales in recent years, the music industry in Asia, particularly that of China, South Korea and Japan, is a rapidly growing economic sector; home to some of the world’s largest music markets. I have shortlisted my top 10 most influential and outstanding Asian musicians as follows:
Top 10: Kid-friendly family vacation destinations
June is an avid traveler who immerses herself into the local culture wherever she goes. In this list she will take us through her top 10 kid-friendly vacation spots in Asia.