EPISODE 15: Pinky Brand, SVP at iQ, speaks with Michele Neylon, CEO & Founder of Blacknight, a 100% Irish-owned and based in Ireland ICANN accredited registrar and hosting company.

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00:16 - Introduction and opening remarks from Michele

02:52 - How Blacknight weathered the pandemic (the effect on business continuity, operations, security)

10:36 - How is the "return to work" situation working out for your company?

18:40 - How does Blacknight communicate trust and how do you keep building on that?

21:27 - The mass switch from offline to online.

26:35 - Domain registration trends during and after the pandemic

27:50 - Opportunistic vs. abusive COVID-related domain registrations. Which to shut down?

32:46 - Comments on the European Union Study on Domain Name System (DNS) abuse

36:00 - Leveraging social media

37:38 - Alternative roots/TLDs (Handshake, blockchain tech, Web3) An existential threat?

46:28 - An accident waiting to happen?

51:40 - new gTLDs , "forever domains" rants

53:53 - What's up with the second round of new gTLDs?

55:50 - What do you look for in a registry operator approaching you for promos and marketing?

1:02:55 - What do you see looming on the horizon that is either concerning or that you are thrilled about? (HINT: NIS2)

1:05:20 - Comments re Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

1:09:34 - Conclusion

This interview was recorded live in person on 3 February 2022 at Blacknight's offices in Carlow, Ireland.