SOURCE : https://developers.googleblog.com/2019/05/app-bringing-more-people-online-securely.html

A year ago, Google launched.app, the first open top-level domain (TLD) with built-in security through HSTS preloading. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have registered .app domains, and we want to take a moment to celebrate them.
People are making more websites and apps than ever before. A recent survey we conducted with The Harris Poll found that nearly half (48%) of U.S. respondents plan to create a website in the near future. And a lot of people, especially students, are already building on the web. Over a third (34%) of 16-24 year olds who’ve already created a website did so for a class project.
Having a meaningful domain name helps students turn their projects into reality. Take LudwikTrammer, creator of shrew.app, who said: “The site started as a project for my graduate Educational Technology class at Georgia Tech. Getting the perfect domain gave me the initial push to turn it into the real deal (instead of making a prototype, publishing a scientific paper on it, and forgetting it).”
Helping creators launch their sites securely
With so many new creators, it’s essential that everyone does their part to make the internet safer. That’s why Google Registry designed .app to be secure by default, meaning every website on .app requires a HTTPS connection to ensure a secure connection to the internet.
HTTPS helps keep you and your website visitors safe from bad actors, who may exploit connections that aren’t secure by:
• intercepting or altering the site’s content
• misdirecting traffic
• spying on open Wi-Fi networks
• injecting ad malware or tracking

“As a social application, data protection is paramount. As cyber attacks increase, the security benefits a .app domain brings was a key factor for us. We also believe that a .app domain is significantly more descriptive than a .com domain, meaning users can find us more easily! All in all it was a no brainer for us switching to .app.”
-DanehWestropp, Founder, pickle.app

There’s still work to be done. One out of two people don’t know the difference between HTTP and HTTPS. Many major browsers (like Chrome) warn users in the URL bar when content is “not secure,” but there’s every website creator still has a shared responsibility to keep their users safe.
.App is year in, and we’re happy to see so many people using it to build secure websites and connect with the world. You can read more stories from .app owners here and get your own .app name at get.app. If you’re one of the millions of people planning to build a website, we hope you’ll join us in making the internet safer and take the steps to securely launch your website.
See the list of .app websites here

Digital Channel – Food for thought – Technology C2

In this podcast by Mitch Joel in conversation with Avinash Kaushik where they discuss about the most happening Online digital medium and the way this medium has matured and has become the new means of brand building &revenue generation.
Some transcript and summary from the podcast as below:
The way we measure the success or define success has changed since the invent of the New age social networks.
Earlier websites used to measure the success of their online presence by counting the numbers such as below:
1) No. of hits to the website
2) No. of page views
3) No. of Unique visitors
4) No. of form submissions etc….
However, these metrics are mere numbers that make little / no sense in this age of Digital socialism. The success of an online channel is not only about the short lived popularity but how can it prove to be successful in the long run. Gone are the days when the website owners were churning out heaps of content and expect the public to endorse them. Yes this is the age of Trust and no matter how good a product is, there is a heavy chance to lose the customer base as the competition is growing every day to make better quality products.
So, what is that differentiator when it comes to building a sustainable online business model? Is it about the speed of churning out new content?? Is it about the variety of products that a company sells online? Or is it about the advertising genius of the ad agency working on the website. What matters at the end of the day is the way a community is built around a good product which helps achieve a level of customer advocacy. Customer advocacy is the trust that the customer has that whatever product / service is being offered is absolutely based on his / her needs and the company does what is best for the customer and the society as a whole (sometimes).
Let’s take an example. We visited the websiteVim website a detergent manufacturer and found an image of a shining surface and a loud scream that Vim is the best detergent and it helps clean everything under the sun. Well we don’t deny the fact that yes Vim could be good product but the Brand message is all about screaming out loud. This is obviously the 80’s way of selling a product. Obviously the ancient metrics are the ones that would be used on such websites. Now let’s focus our attention onto a similar product manufacturer called Seventh generation. The hero banner on the Home page screams “Protecting Planet Home”. Wow look at the difference between this and Vim website. Here the message is very clear. “We invite you to join this initiative to make a better planet for you and the upcoming generations”. Look at the kind of connect that is brought out by this website. It tempts one to really look up to their products because of the Customer advocacy that it creates. Any customer would really love to buy this product and would definitely recommend this website to all the near and dear ones simply because of the opportunity it creates to share their views, complaints, recommendations and what not??The site is connected to all the major social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and YouTube. Also, it makes a customer much more comfortable that the company is very open to their views and helps choose a product that they think is best for them and their home. There is no compulsion on the customer part to buy the product now and one is made comfortable that at the end of the day that it’s an individual’s choice whether to buy a product or not. Probably as a short term this could mean ROI is delayed. But we are sure ROI would eventually become 3-5 times more than what a competitor can get in a period of 6months-1 year for any new customer.
Now look the paradigm shift in metrics when it comes to measuring the online success of this website:
• No. of re-tweets on twitter (Engagement potential)
• No. of followers on twitter and Facebook(Popularity)
• Ratio of incoming messages per outbound message (Conversational ability)
• Net promoter score (Loyalty index)
Nowhere in these metrics there is just mere volume sans Digital socialism. So, as we see Online channel has become the face of the company and we could say it is more appropriate to provide the right brand image online rather than spending millions in offline branding that is fast becoming extinct and costlier.
Also, it is all about matured branding Online by focusing on the Brand strategy and Key product features rather than on mere screaming that is increasingly becoming irritant to the ordinary buyer who is moved up the Maslow’s hierarchy towards Self-actualisation and wants instant gratification of his recognition needs.
We will write more about self-actualisation and how it relates to marketing today in our next blog. Until then cya! Keep sending in your comments…