I will finally be heading west to the next Silicon Prairie Social, which will be held this Tuesday, April 28 at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton, IL.

For someone who works and lives in Chicago, I rarely get out to the ‘burbs, unless I am looking to do some shopping to pay less sales tax! There are, however, quality business and tech networking events outside of the city which easily rival those within the city limits, and this is one of them. And I know I will not be alone, as many others will be trekking west as well as some event sponsors that are from Chicago. Plus I promised Tim Courtney of XNet, who organizes the event, I would make it out there one day, and now I am.

Will I see you there?

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What is a TLD and why should you care? If you have anything to do with the Internet or are a businessperson, you should know what it is.

TLD stands for “top-level domain” and is the last part of a domain name. For example, in the domain name thehotiron.com, the TLD is “com.” Where those who register and manage domain names use the acronym frequently, many others do not. As I plan on using it in many future blog posts on domain names, I wanted to define it ahead of time.

The acronym is sometimes used by itself or it can be prefixed by other letters to further quality a type of TLD. A gTLD is a “generic” top-level domain, and generic means anyone can register a domain name with a gTLD. Examples are .com, .net and .org. A ccTLD is a “country-code” TLD, and are ideally for entities which reside in a specific country. Examples are .us, .au (for Australia) and .dk (for Denmark). An sTLD is a “sponsored” TLD and they are only available to certain groups or classifications. Examples are .aero (for the air transport industry), .coop (for cooperative associations) and .museum (for museums). For a complete list of TLDs, view the list from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for all global TLDs.

Knowing about other TLDs is helpful in choosing domain names to register or in analysis of a URL with a TLD you may not be familiar with. Each TLD is managed by an organization which sets the rules for registrations. For example, some ccTLDs require the registrant to be based in that country, and others do not. If you are a business and have operations or sales in a country, it may be of interest to register the name of your business or brand with a specific ccTLD or sTLD as appropriate.

TLDs of all forms are approved and assigned by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). There have been cases where a TLD was requested but not approved, and a notable example is .xxx and .sex. Some TLDs have been retired, such as .cs (for Czechoslovakia), which were replaced by .cz (for Czech Republic) and .sk (for Slovak Republic).

Of interest to many is a move by ICANN to open the floodgates on any gTLD. For example, .pizza, .beer or .gum. This has been met with much controversy, as it would require an effort for a company to register its name and brands with all new gTLDs, and the opportunity for violation of trademarks by entities who may register domain names with their brand for some random gTLD. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is a staunch defender of its brand for the word “Olympics” globally, has already contacted ICANN with its concern over open gTLDs and to “take action” as required. My guess is the IOC would have an issue with a name like olympics.beer?

In the future, I will reference this document on TLDs in other posts here at The Hot Iron as well as follow-up on news and activities surrounding TLDs, especially the opening of gTLDs.

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The next likemind will be Friday, April 17, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Dearborn & Adams in the Loop at 8:00 am. Note this is a new location! The previous location, The Spa Cafe, closed and rebranded itself as a sandwich shop opening at 10 am, thus we needed to find a new place.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

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I love coffee. There’s nothing like starting the day with a cup of fresh hot coffee cut with a little milk. Ok, make it several cups and don’t limit it to the morning. And sure, the caffeine is more than an added bonus. But I enjoy the flavors from a cup of coffee derived from freshly ground beans in concert with filtered water.

This wasn’t always the case. I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was out of college and at my first job. Coca-Cola was my chosen caffeine delivery vehicle before that time. It was the free coffee at my first job as a COBOL programmer computer consultant in the Berkshires that converted me. At first I didn’t own a coffee maker, so my first coffee at home was instant coffee from a red can with Folgers on the side. Yes, instant. That didn’t last long, as I learn to appreciate – and brew – my own coffee and I never looked back.

I thought about this as I prepared to taste my sample of Starbucks Via, the coffeehouse chain’s newly released instant coffee, which has been launched in 3 cities including Chicago. Like many people, I asked why? But as I tried it, it started to come clear to me.

The sample I had was of their Via Columbia blend. There is also an Italian Roast, and other blends are supposed to be forthcoming. It comes in a short, slender sealed poly tube, and one tube is good for exactly an 8-ounch cup of coffee. I emphasize exactly 8-ounces as I was told this specifically by the barista who gave me the sample.

So I heated a cup of exactly 8-ounces of water in one of few remaining Dunkirk Systems, LLC coffee mugs, added the coffee and stirred. It had a slight (for lack of a better word) "film" on top which reminded me of the Folgers I drank long ago. I then added some skim milk and took a sip. It had a good robust taste, which was not too far from what I would expect from a brewed cup of coffee with freshly ground beans. As I finished the cup, it kept its taste and was a fulfilling taste of coffee.

So would I buy this? Yes, but not all the time. As I have stated here on The Hot Iron before, I tend to buy coffee in large quantities. The packaging is too wasteful for typical day-to-day coffee consumption. I will buy it for when I travel, as many of the friends I visit are not coffee drinkers, plus hotels never have enough coffee in-room. Well, not enough for my liking.

I will bring Starbucks Via on my next journey and will experiment with their other blends. Apparently this has been in the works for over 20 years, which interestingly is around the time I discovered coffee. I doubt this is a coincidence!

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Over the weekend it came to me – there is a need for collaboration and networking space in Chicago. Two things came into my field of vision to that were unexpected and probably coincidental, but led me to this conclusion. Let me explain, and tell me if you agree.

The Need for a New likemind Location

As my family was walking home from brunch at Lou Mitchell’s, we walked by The Spa Cafe on Monroe Street, where just a few days earlier on Friday was the monthly likemind meetup. There were people coming in and out of there though it is closed on Sunday. Then I noticed The Spa Cafe is no longer; the signage now read Lunch Rolls. The restaurant and cafe changed its concept over the weekend, as well as its hours, and opens at 10 am, which is about the time likemind ends. Of course I wish this locally-owned business all the success in the city.

Now we need a new place to meet once a month for likemind. The ideal location would be in the Loop or close-by, and a space where about a dozen or so people can meet and talk… and of course have a cup of coffee. The Spa Cafe was ideal as it was in the Loop and a locally-owned business, but we can be flexible. Any suggestions are encouraged and very welcome.

The Need for Space Beyond a Monthly Coffee

As I was catching up on reading blogs this weekend, I saw this one from Micki Krimmel about seeking a space to work and collaborate with others, calling it Operation Nerd Immersion. Then it hit me, we need this here in Chicago as well as they do in LA. Where networking events are awesome, it is the time in between them where the real activity – dare I say magic – happens.

There’s no shortage of available space in Chicago, as seen by signs all around the city. But in the traditional model, you make a long-term commitment to X amount of space for yourself or your company. Sure there are virtual offices where you can rent much smaller spaces, but again, it is with some consistency. What about a scenario where it is almost ad hoc, where you go to your collaboration space a few times a week, or whenever it is best appropriate, to either work alone and feed off others or to collaborate with colleagues?

Think about this for a bit. For myself, I could use such a space once or twice a week at most. For others who are traveling through Chicago, it could be their office away from their office. Some may even decide to be there every day. And I am not talking for free. People can pay by the day or month. As for the space itself, it could be anything from an empty office to a large conference room in an existing office. What company couldn’t use a few grand a month for unused space?

So I put this out there to the tech and creative community of Chicago. Perhaps the folks at the Chicago Tech Report or WindyBits could pass this along to others? Maybe folks like Jeff Pulver and Justin Chen who are in Chicago on occasion have a thought as to if this would work? Or maybe people who are more connected than me like Liz Strauss, Jason Jacobsohn, Daniel Honigman or even Ron May could chime in? Am I onto something here, or is this just a half-baked thought?

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