For the last 30 years, people have been using .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk and .uk domain names. In 2015 I worked with the team at Nominet to profile companies who have used these domain names to build their business.
The stories with original links are below.
A student turns scraps of found fabric into a British style brand
Very few University students finding themselves bored go on to use that time to set up a successful business — but that is exactly what happened to Alec Farmer and Trakke Bags.
“I was studying graphic design and I was a bit bored so I started making stuff in my spare time,” Alec explained. “I didn’t really have any money so I used to go and hunt around the skips in Glasgow and find different materials that I could use to make bags. Eventually I gathered a bit of a following and decided to keep going it when I graduated.”
Alec says from day one he wanted to make a product that was specifically British.
Using the web to give football back to its fans
In May this year, four and a half thousand people packed out the new Broadhurst Park Stadium to watch their local team, FC United Manchester(FCUM) take on the Portuguese team S.L. Benfica.
Their first match in a brand new stadium was a demonstration of how the internet and a .uk address can connect communities of fans to create something special. Football may now be the plaything of global billionaires, but FC United are a welcome reminder of why local roots are still at its heart.
“Seeing grown men and women cry just with the sheer joy and exhilaration of what has been achieved, it touches you,” Andy Walker, fundraising and press and communications officer at FCUM said. “You have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by that and there were many people moved that night, no question.”
Britain’s radio stations have a new audience: the rest of the world
The rise of the Internet has spelled trouble for many in the media. Social media and free news and video services have resulted in newspapers and television stations’ profits plummeting as they lose access to the market.
Yet for one medium — radio — the Internet has potentially been a godsend. Once limited to the reach of their FM or AM frequency, radio stations are now suddenly able to be heard by a global audience, all from a familiar .uk address.
“We just hit 400,000 downloads,” explains Peter Beeston, the founder and manager of Cornucopia Radio. That’s pretty impressive for one man who started a small community radio show only seven years ago.
Putting .uk cheese on the map
When you think about cheese you probably think of France, Belgium or Switzerland. Or maybe even Germany. But what about Britain? We spend £2.8bn on cheese every year in the UK1, and our taste in cheese is getting more sophisticated. We ate 252,000 tonnes of Cheddar last year, and over 50% of sales were for Mature — we seem to love the strong stuff.
This change in our tastes is leading to a cheese revolution — small suppliers are finding more markets for their niche and heritage cheeses, not just in the UK but all over the world. Companies like Pong are putting British cheeses on the map. And their .uk website is leading the charge.
Pong was created by two friends in South England. Director, owner and founder of the business, Matt March Smith, said they saw a gap in the market that was not being met.