The amazing .uk domain: Less .co and loads more whalesong

LogoWatch If you're a Brit "at the forefront of the contemporary online landscape", then you've doubtless already eyed the .uk domain - the "short and sharp" dot thingy for "fearless, modern, digital natives", set to launch on 10 June.

Make no mistake, this isn't just a cynical way of ditching the .co and charging you for the privilege, .uk is actually "at the forefront of the online revolution, offering an exciting new territory for online pioneers to make their own".

That's according to Nominet's Strategy Boutique, which has evidently invested plenty of cash into whalesong CDs and joss-sticks in trumpeting the newest member of the "expanding UK domain family".

If your nerves can stand it, there's more rubbish on the happy smiley UK domain family here (PDF), in which Nominet describes itself as "warm, approachable and with a smattering of the famous British sense of humour".

That last bit is true at least, because if you check out the vid, you'll see that someone is having a right laugh.

Regarding the paradigm-busting new .uk logo (left), the narrator explains that Nominet customers thought the "share symbol, used across the web, appeals to a new, tech-savvy audience".

It gets worse:

The circle represents an online journey, starting from the dot. It also represents the world, and the UK's place within it. The colour represents self expression, new thinking, and new horizons.

Nominet customers apparently described the truly amazing .uk brand frontage as "pioneering", "connecting", "driving", and "sharing", at which point the voiceover writer presumably whipped out a wrap of Bolivian marching powder and shared a few lines to prompt interviewees to insights of ever greater profundity.

Enough. We'll leave the final word on this very sorry business to our own Strategy Boutique. ®