Quick on the Draw: Sites Responded Quickly to 9/11

www.theattackof911.com, www.guesswhodidit.com. These are just some of the URLs born on Sept. 11. While most people spent that morning paralyzed by horror, others snapped up website names related to the events. BulkRegister, a domain name registrar headquartered in Baltimore, received at least 200 requests within 20 minutes of the first attack. From www.freedomwillprevail.com to www.wherethehell wassuperman.com, names reflected reactions to the events, says Tom Cunningham, CEO and founder. “There are some expressing anger, some trying to help, others selling T-shirts…. It reflects human nature. All within an hour.”

BulkRegister, the fourth-largest domain name registrar, usually deals with more ordinary issues like reserving website names and protecting brand identities. However, notes Cunningham, big events always bring out the speculators, be they individuals or Web-hosting services trying to corner the market on the potential demand for sites such as www.jetlinerhitsworldtradecenter.com or www.rememberseptember11th.org (two more sites registered with BulkRegister). Some of the domain names were a presage to the news. Cunningham says people registered the names www.osama-bin-laden.org and www.bombafghanistan.com before officials even stated those parties were involved. “It’s fascinating,” he adds, “that some people’s first impulse is to register domain names rather than call mom.”

[Editor’s note: While all these sites were registered almost immediately following the attacks, as of press time several of the sites led nowhere or had no content.]