Morning Folks!!
I predict that ICANN will either not exist in the form it does now or will lose much of the power they have enjoyed and ABUSED before this decade is out and maybe even sooner than that. Many will say 'Who cares' and the rest will say 'It ain't ever gonna happen'. I beg to differ and here is why.
I have been writing online for 16 years now. I have said this now a few times. I have never had the occasion in my LIFE to use the word CLUSTERF*%K until ICANN. This organization as a whole is one big clusterf*%k. They have the system of clusterf*%king down 3 levels deep plus 3 generations of leadership. It is so screwed up that the only way to fix it is to dissolve ICANN, eliminate the past and current corruption noted as 'Conflict of Interest' repeatedly, and appoint a panel that will actually work for the public good instead of their OWN PERSONAL GOOD! That my friends is a DISGRACE! A violation of the power we entrusted them with.
Criminal activity? I can't say that at this point but if there were ever a true Congressional investigation (and that might happen someday), it certainly would not surprise me. What I can say is that the motives at work have nothing to do with the benefit to the public and if there were a Congressional investigation, heads would roll and possibly even worse because they have a culture there that paints a very ugly picture.
As just one example, the process that ICANN has put in place for the new gTLD's is so messed up that it will likely be 3-5 years before they actually roll out and possibly longer as they work through all the bombs they will have to deal with because of poor thought and planning. Negligence has penalties. They built this monster to put money in the ICANN coffers, but now they have to control this monster. What happens when it becomes OUT of control? Who will be responsible? It just may be that all roads lead right back to ICANN.
I am betting they won't be able to keep it under control and it will have to be dealt with in some major fashion. Yes, I know that I am crazy for thinking this can/will happen. But how do you unravel a clusterf*%k? How do you fix so many bad decisions that it can only lead to chaos? As it spins out of control what exactly happens? Who eventually fixes it? It seems physically impossible for the folks that brought 'Clusterf*%king' to the web to now fix what they built. The world depends on ICANN and ICANN is NOT DEPENDABLE!
This is really beginning to look like a road to nowhere and that is why I believe we will see massive changes before the end of this decade and could be much sooner.
As always, I like being on the record early on. Time tells all and that is what I see in time. Odds are way against me on this one. But they still have to deal with the clusterf*%k and conflicts of interest and they have the eyes of the world watching.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
UPDATE:
I always say 'Timing is everything'. I wrote this post last week and have been waiting to publish it. I have no substantiation in this article as you see. No links, no evidence. Just some gut feelings from watching from the bleachers. But then I find this post at DomainIncite.com last night by Kevin Murphy. I think he provides more than ample substantiation of why it is I have these thoughts and reinforce what I see likely to happen in time.
Kevin Murphy
Contrary to popular belief, Kieren McCarthy and Kevin Murphy are two separate people.
;)
Rick Schwartz
My apologies!!
McCarthy and Murphy. I always confuse them.
Updated!
Adrian Keys
Saw the DomainIncite article…seems improper domain use especially when when so obvious as described in the post is the first thing an Icann”net” would catch but apparently not.
MARTIN
As long as some Global Organization like the U.N. doesnt get control over the interwebz I am cool with dissolving ICANN. Just do not wanna see America give the virtual world away….like we have done with reality.
Orangelo
I agree Rick.
The only other true 100% clusterf*ck I can think of is the U.S. educational system.
If you really want to see one of the most incredible documentaries on how bad and big the education bureaucracy has become go check out the documentary,”Waiting for Superman”.
The educational system’s bureaucracy has become so big that nobody can dismantle it anymore. It has become the monster NOBODY can reform. Many have tried and failed.
I bring this up because this what could happen to ICANN. Check it out. In the top five documentaries on Gov’t you will ever see.
Orangelo
If the new TLDs are a failure they will try to grow this ICANN monster if we don’t step in and shut them down. We have to become activists ourself.
Not to keep talking about that documentary, but here is the movie trailer that shows how screwed up the educational system is. The same people that bring you the U.S. educational system can do the same to ICANN if we are not careful. It’s better to nip it in the bud now before it grows to an uncontrollable monster.
Waiting for Superman trailer
http://youtu.be/ZKTfaro96dg
.
SF
Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
However, they just might have enough Cash to”buy their way out” of trouble for quite a while.
Show us the money..
ICANN is like the European project. Understand that and you understand ICANN. What we Brits call a”Buggers muddle”.
To me, ICANN should directing all its efforts to solve the internet spam issue and bot traffic that goes around defacing and wasting untold millions of hours of webmasters time. Various nations should be ringfenced and simply blocked from being able to access the wider global web until they have stringent and first world laws/enforcement that ensure they don’t spam the world. Places like Nigeria, Russia, China, African states.
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
Funny you should mention this! Thank you for saving me some heat on this very subject. Takes lots of courage,KUDOS!
Creative Destruction has already voted on this and you have sensed it. This whole gTld, debacle threatens the very fabric of the worlds largest most efficient business platform,the internet. This is not something to experiment with and I believe, as others do, as you do, that this whole Cluster…., should and can yet be avoided.
You are swimming against a powerful tide with this one. TRUTH always prevails in long run but the paybacks can be bruising , but I know you, above all others, can handle the truth. Being so public and out front helps. Congrats!
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
White Fish
ICANN is gonna look mighty bad when the gtld tower comes crumbling down in a few months. People are gonna wanna stick with .COM and are not gonna wanna switch to .crap or something equally silly.
Joao
icann and wipo are the worst monster making in the domaining industry.
Maybe colapsing isn’t the future for them, but time has shown that some of the biggest monster making tend to have an internal cleaning, because interests speak louder. They kill each other out, but the toilet remains the same.
Rick Schwartz
Things may be moving faster than I think
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/lawmakers-raise-new-concerns-a.php
congrats icann
http://www.thedomains.com/2012/07/17/new-gtlds-all-explained-in-an-8-minute-video-which-you-will-lol-at/
this basically sums it all up. still laughing my ass off on this but 8 minutes sums it all up.
congrats to the”hidden agenda” domainer. ICANN. Going be one big fucked up mess. going be one big blood bath. you think the domainer pool is going shrink, well this will distract many more people. the experts. the part timers.
MicroSourcing
It’s unfortunate that an established entity like ICANN has to go through this kind of crisis. Best of luck to the institution. The best businesses can turn problems into opportunities.
ScottM
I’m hoping President Romney will name someone like Tom Donohue as his Commerce Secretary. I knew him many years ago when he headed the American Trucking Association through the minefield and clusterf–k of deregulation in the early 80’s. Now Tom is CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. If there is ever a guy who can come in and do away with or clean up or neuter ICANN it would be someone like him. After that, game on to go and de-ball Verisign and their greedy monopoly.
Nominasi
How about Rick Schwartz just become President? Does anyone agree? ;)
Charles Christopher
No question in my mind that this will happen.
Problem is too many will want to”replace” ICANN and maintain something at the current ICANN control point. The UN’s desire to”control the root” is not a good thing.
If headway where made independently adding TLDs without ICANN I’d have far more confidence of a positive future as this would tend to create some accountability at that control point. That is some”competition” at the root. Not saying competition with established TLDs. China’s inclusion of IDN’s TLDs via their”ICANN” root server in 2006 REALLY got ICANN’s attention … Then the entire issue went off the radar, but the splits are still there and working.
So long as ICANN is a monopoly, and has freedom to”tax” at it wishes, we also have the other motive for governments to fill the void .. With more bureaucrats.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out and what opportunities result.