Brand control is an important part of our modern celebrity culture. Making sure people cannot misuse your name is a constant practice in this digital world where people can do pretty much anything. This is especially true in a culture where porn parodies are a significant part of our pop culture psyche. But what can one do to make sure you won't see porn parodies of yourself?
One idea is to buy the porn-related domains that involve your name, which is what Taylor Swift did. The pop star reportedly purchased TaylorSwift.porn and TaylorSwift.adult in order to maintain her brand, reports CNNMoney.
According to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) All .porn, .sucks and .adult domains are supposed to go on sale on June 1. However, the ICANN is allowing some brands and celebrities to buy related URLs before June 1 so that they don't have to worry about others using the URL to harm or misrepresent them. For example, Microsoft bought office.porn and office.adult in order to protect its Microsoft Office suite brand.
While this may sound like a great chance for businesses, it could accidentally put some sites into some weird situations. Steve Miholovich, SVP of marketing at Safenames (a domain registrar) told CNNMoney that some of these domains could cause harm to a company's brand. For example, it would be easy for people to use .sucks domains to express their dislike for a variety of things. Also, the adult-content URLs could unintentionally cause some not-safe-for-work filters to ban safe-for-work websites
Fortune notes that Swift's purchase is actually a really smart business move.
"The move keeps those domains under Swift's control," Miholovich said. He told CNNMoney that buying adult-content domains is extremely helpful and is a very responsible move for maintaining one's business and brand.
