First, we’ll start by saying that we hold a number of .me domain names and therefore have an interest in seeing the .me domain continue to grow. We made a calculated decision based on what we believe is the enormous potential of this one of a kind domain extension.

It’s quickly becoming the domain extension of the next generation of the Web. We’ve written extensively about the recent proliferation of new ventures being built on .me domain names.

The .me domain is unique in being able to provide an element of engagement to a domain name. It might sound corny but it can speak to a user in a way that no other TLD can. When used in combination with generic names, the .me extension provides brandability while also realizing the benefits of the generic term memorability whereas the .com makes a generic name sound, well, generic and banal.

As we posted earlier, the .ME Registry still holds a number of premium domain names that have yet to allocated or put up for auction. We’d like to see the .me domain continue to grow and build on its momentum and the development of premium domain names such as those being offered will help to achieve that, so we’re doing our small part to bring attention to .ME Registry’s development program.

We believe we’re reaching a tipping point for the .me TLD whereby the burgeoning adoption of the .me domain for new websites will increase the public’s awareness of the extension and drive an even more rapid pace of .me development. We feel the .me domain is now entering this positive feedback loop.

It’s an exciting time to be writing about the .me domain and we’re looking forward to posting news about all the .me websites that we anticipate will be launching soon.

Websites that provide personalization features such as Yahoo should seriously consider moving those services to a .ME domain name. In the case of Yahoo, which offers My Yahoo, they already own Yahoo.me, so why not make it easier for users to reach their customized pages by moving that service to the .ME domain name. I know that sites such as Yahoo have a tendency to consolidate properties under one domain name but I think the future will be about spinning services out on standalone domain names. MSN should consider doing the same with MSN.me, which they already own.

Furthermore, news sites that offer personalization options could create standalone .ME sites where users could build customized news pages, access interactive features such as comments to stories, and find lists of the most read or commented on stories and other social features. News web sites could use the .ME domain name as the platform on which to build a community of users and offer their social media elements.

.ME domain names are a perfect fit for websites that offer personalization, social components, interactive content, and community features and using these names would result in a shorter, catchier web address for these services.

We believe that there is significant demand on the part of Internet users to have custom .ME domain names attached to their online profiles on social networking sites.

Registrars and social networking sites should form partnerships that would allow users to easily create and redirect a custom .ME domain name to these profile pages.

Whoever is able to offer this feature will have a significant advantage in drawing users to their service.

Who will be the first to capitalize on this? Facebook, Flavors.me, or About.me? Or will it be a whole new service, perhaps Google should consider building their social networking platform around this idea.

At the very least, .ME domain name registrars could promote this potential use as an option on their sites. Registrars should provide instructions to .ME domain name purchasers on how they could forward the .ME domain name they purchase to whichever profile page they choose and they need to make the process user friendly. Perhaps, they could include a list of social networking sites from which one could select and merely enter their username in order activate the .ME domain name forwarding service.

We believe that there is an enormous market for the use of .ME domain names as addresses for social network profile pages, so it’s just a matter of who will be the first to effectively implement this idea.

Update 1/20/11

Flavors.me does in fact offer this feature to users.

Read more: Flavors.me offers the option of selecting a custom .ME domain name for your profile page

After reading a post over at TheDomains.com on the November Sedo .ME auction results, I was inspired to write about how I see the future of the .ME TLD as it applies to use by businesses. There was a discussion about the $15,600 price for Contacts.me and whether it made sense. I believe that it was a great deal for the buyer. If you run a contact lens business, branding it as Contacts.me is a brilliant strategy.

More and more businesses, particularly those that sell consumer products, will soon be building their web presences with .ME domain names.

A great product keyword with the personalized feel that the .ME extension gives produces a winning combination from a marketing standpoint. I think generic product category .ME names are an area where you’ll see significant development by businesses.

No other extension can provide the type of connection with the consumer that .ME allows. Therefore, the benefits of using a .ME domain name in advertising whether it be print, television, or radio are significant. Marketing is all about making a personal connection with the prospective buyer. With the .ME extension, you can achieve that by merely sharing your web address.

As the .ME domain is pemeating into the mainstream with the rapid development of many wildly popular new websites utilizing the extension as well as the many personal sites availing themselves of it, the TLD is no longer being viewed as a novelty domain. I predict soon we’ll see marketing, advertising, branding, and public relations firms introducing clients to .ME.

Obviously, I’m a fan of .ME and see huge potential in the TLD. So, in my view, you should look for some major companies adopting .ME to sell their products and services in the near future.

Could AOL be preparing to rebrand itself as AOL.me and enhance its prospects in the social web?

What better way to reinvigorate the brand than to embrace the social web domain name extension .ME.

As we wrote about earlier, the AOL.me domain name currently leads to the AOL Lifestream service and their recent purchase of About.me demonstrates the company’s interest in the .ME domain.

In 2009, the company acquired the AOL.me domain name. Later that year they introduced a new logo which consisted of the letters Aol followed by a dot without the COM. It would seem that this was likely a temporary logo in anticipation of a future rebranding with a new domain name extension, .ME.

Of course, we are just speculating, but we believe that AOL is getting set to relaunch itself as AOL.ME.