The Web in Alphabetical Order

Daniel Temkin, Interactive Artist http://internetdirectory.info

The Web in Alphabetical Order

According to ICANN, .COM domains were intended for business, .ORG for nonprofit, and .NET for internet providers and “Web Portals.”

Internet Directory is a listing of every domain—beginning with the 115 million .COMs—as they stand in early 2014. On a fast browser (Chrome or Safari), it takes 599 days to watch every domain scroll by. Surprises emerge from the list, such as the preponderance of domains starting with 0s or featuring -s as if they were designed to show up ahead of others in alphabetized lists (e.g. take a look at the domains beginning with “the—”). Or the single squatter who owns nearly all of .ORG and .NET. Or the density of domains beginning with words like “serious” and “little,” which become nearly meaningless when read en masse. Clicking on a domain brings up a preview of the site in a sandboxed iframe.

This website is a companion to the printed volume of domains to be produced by AND Publishing (UK). It was made by Daniel Temkin for The Webbys 25 for 25, a special online campaign by the Webby Awards, in conjunction with the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, Tim Berners-Lee, The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and The World Wide Web Foundation, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Web.

It began with the original “serious” printed book project (2011)

Updates on the project and insights about the data can be found on my tumblr.