Are your organization growing and you feel like you losing a grip of how money is being spent, or are you aiming to grow your organization to greater heights? Then what you will need is QuickBooks Accounting software in which you can track all your finances, grants, strategic planning, reports, keeping tracks of your daily transactions, and organizing your administrative expenses.
This workshop will introduce you to QuickBooks, Its features, the various versions, its perks, setting it up, and how best it can be adapted for your NGO and a Q&A session.
Date: 7th October 2020 Time: 14:30 -15:30 Juba Time
Public Notice Introduction: The National Communication Authority (NCA) is the current registry managing Agency for the .SS domain name and by this notice, it wishes to inform the general public of the launching phases and procedure of the.SS domain name.
The registration process will go through three phases as outlined below before it reaches the general availability period, this process shall take 90 calendar days.
The 90 days period shall be divided as follows:-
1.Sunrise period: The Sunrise Period is a limited pre-registration period and is the mandatory first phase of all new Top Level Domains (TLDs) launching. Sunrise is the right time to register brand names as domains. This period allows trademark owners the opportunity to secure their trademark on the new country code top level domain name (ccTLD) .SS. The Sunrise period is 45-day phase during which trademark owners can purchase domain names before they are offered to the general public. This period is managed by the registry closely through accredited registrars.
NB: Trademark owners have to prove their ownership of the domain name associated to their domain name.
2. Landrush period: The Landrush (30-day)period allows registrants to apply to register for a domain name prior to General Availability (GA), but at a higher price there are no trademark requirements for applications during the Landrush period though existing trademarks claims are taken into consideration. If there is a contest on a domain name at this period auctioning will be conducted and the highest bidder will take over the claimed domain name.
Early Access period: This period is reserved for those who wish to access domain names which are not in the premium domains list and are not yet registered in the registry. This period will run for 10 days before General Availability period and will allow registrants to order for domain names to be registered right when the launch starts. An additional 1 time cost will be incurred by the registrant to reserve a domain name to be registered right after launching.4. General Availability (GA): Once a new TLD is GA, it has officially launched and is available to the public for registration.
Details Table:-
S/N
Period Name
Duration
Comments
1
Sunrise
45 Days
Managed closely by the registry (NCA) through registrars.
2
Landrush
30 Days
Non-trademarks apply for domain names at premium prices before General Availability period.
3
Early Access
10 Days
Early access for names at near premium rate. An additional 1 time cost will be incurred by the registrant to reserve a domain name to be registered right after launching.
4
General Availability (GA)
Open to general public
Open registration commences.
NB: All the domains which are listed in the Premium Domain Names List prepared by the registry will not be access until the 90 days period elapses and then the registry shall either develop its own auctioning platform or procure the service of a credible domain name auctioning platform where Premium names shall be auction and sold to the highest bidder at first come first serve basis.
DotSS zones details:
S/N
Zone
Use
Type
1
.com.ss
For companies and commercial entities.
Open
2
.net.ss
For network operators, ISPs and infrastructure providers only
Open
3
.biz.ss
For any business
Open
4
.org.ss
For South Sudan NGOs only.
Provide Proof of registration
5
edu.ss
South Sudan Higher Education only
Closed
6
sch.ss
South Sudan Secondary, Primary Schools only
Provide proof of registration
7
gov.ss
South Sudan Government entities only
Official request letter.
8
me.ss
Personal sites
Open
NB: – Registrations under the second level domain i.e. directly under .SS top-level-domain is not open for now and will be made available at a later stage.
Period
Start Date
End Date
Duration
Sunrise
1st/June/2020
15th/July/2020
45 Days
Landrush
17st/July/2020
17th/August/2020
30 Days
EarlyAccess
19st/August/2020
29th/August/2020
10 Days
GeneralAvailability
1st/September/2020
N/A
N/A
TimeLineTable for registrations:- All domain name registrations are to be done directly through NCA accredited registrars; except for (.gov.ss) government institutions they can contact the registry directly.
For more information visit the registry’s website at http://nic.ss.
Note: The public notice above is an official communication from the National Communication Authority (NCA), Its content is as exactly as published by the NCA. Dynamic Consult is a consumer of the information and we find it important to share it with the general public.
South Sudan will officially launch the Dotss (.ss) Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) on the 1st of June 2020, this means the public will be able to buy their domains from www.namesforus.com and other platforms out there
The following terms are important in understanding how the domain name ecosystem works.
Domain: A domain name is your website name. A domain name is the address Internet users can access your website, for example, www.namesforus.com or www.southsudan.com. This is subscribed for by-annually
Hosting: it is the physical location of your website on the Internet, an online storage centre that houses the information, images, video, and other content that comprises your website. It is like a house where you store your online content, the bigger the house (in gigabytes) the more you have to pay for it.
Domain Name – The name of your website, which follows the ‘www.’ in the URL, and also what follows the @ symbol in an email address. For example, in ‘www.namesforus.com’ then ‘namesforus.com’ is the actual domain name.
Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) – These are two-letter domain names that are associated with a specific country, such as .us for the United States or .ca for Canada and .ss for south sudan.
Registrant: The owner of a domain name, or corporation in control of the registration of the domain, either of which is listed on the domain name’s name record.
Registrar – An accredited business or organization that sells domain registration services to the public, in our case www.namesforus.com is a registrar.
Registry – An organization that maintains and controls top-level domains (TLDs). They generally don’t sell domains directly to the public and instead sell domains through 3rd party registrars. In South Sudan the National Information Center (NIC) which is being managed by National Community Authority (NCA) at the moment.
Nameserver – A web server that stands in as a resource directory, sometimes for another server.
Renewal – The process of re-registering a domain name for another year(s) to continue ownership of the domain.
Premium Domain – A high-value domain name that has been previously registered. They often contain valuable SEO keywords. Premium domain names have stronger branding potential, are easier to remember, and attract more website traffic than standard domain names.
Reseller – An individual agent or affiliate of a specific registrar who sells domain name services.
Reverse Domain Hijacking – The process of trying to obtain a legitimately owned domain name by using false claims to contest its ownership.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – The practice of tweaking and optimizing your website, or the content on a page, with the goal of showing up higher in search engine results.
Transfer – Moving a domain name from one registrar to another without giving up ownership.
Redemption Period – After a domain name registration expires, and after the grace period, when the previous owner can still renew the domain, but usually at a higher price.
Grace Period – The period after a domain name registration expires, but can still be renewed by the registrant, and before the domain is offered up for general sale.
WHOIS – A system that makes it possible to search the owner information of a registered domain name, as well as other details such as contact information.
SSL Security/Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol): SSL certificates create an encrypted connection and establish trust. One of the most important components of online business is creating a trusted environment where potential customers feel confident in making purchases. SSL certificates create a foundation of trust by establishing a secure connection.
Dynamic Consult Ltd is running a website development promotion specially designed for NNGOs that might not be having an online presence or would like to redesign their website. The idea is to help them develop world-class websites so they can showcase their services, activities, projects and possibly the ability to receive online donations (Through a donate button).
Dynamic Consult Ltd is a promotor of digital solution uptake, below we have outlined all the necessary details and its benefits. Even if you are located in the towns outside Juba or locked at home, we can be able to work remotely, we have done it before and they ended up going smoothly.
Proven Benefits of a website.
The cheapest way your client’s and potential donors can reach you.
Wider Demographic Reach
It builds your organisation credibility.
24/7 online availability.
Showcase and represent South Sudan to the global internet space.
Have a competitive advantage over your competition.
What does the package include?
Website development
Domain registration
A donate button that can lead to a PayPal account that people can make donations to your account.
Email and hosting for 1 year
Google search engine integration
What do I need to get a website?
Your organizational profile
Pictures showcasing your activities
A domain name suggestion or we can provide you with a suggestion.
$450
And a focal point we can be communicating with and giving us feedback.
There is an email virus going around, you will receive an email from someone in your contact list or someone you know but if you pay close attention you will realize that the email address from where it was sent is very fishy. If you open the attachment chances are very high that they will hijack your email account and gain access to your confidential information.
Precaution:
Pay close attention to the email address it was sent from.
If it looks fishy do not open the attachment or the email, simply delete (also be careful not to delete your relevant documents).
Change your email login password as soon as possible.
Make sure your computer has an antivirus installed.
The launch of the ccTLD in South Sudan has been in the pipeline for as long as I can remember. Despite the slow progress, the ccTLD launch is timely especially in light of several other important (and complementary) developments including the soon to be completed Juba electrification project, the laying of fiber optic cables to Juba, the rollout of mobile money and the recent launch of the South Sudan International Gateway.
2019 certainly packs a whole lot of interesting ICT developments than any other sector of the economy. This is commendable as an enabling infrastructure is one of the key pillars to achieve development in the ICT sector.
What does this ccTLD even mean?
A ccTLD is a country code top-level domain extension that is assigned to a country in the world. Similar to the telephone country code of 211, websites and domains also come with their own country codes. Each country has their own domain extension based on the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes. For example, websites in Uganda carry the .ug code, in Rwanda the .rw code and in Tanzania the .tz code. South Sudan websites will, therefore, carry a. ss code. How cool is that!
How is the ccTLD important to the business community?
The following are just some of the benefits that businesses can enjoy eventually benefiting the country as a whole.
It creates more space for domain names for businesses/organizations in South Sudan. Today most of the .com or .org domains that you might want to buy for your business may not be available. Well, with the .ss extension, now will be the time to get that domain name you have always wanted to have.
It creates a new market for ICT companies. ICT companies can become registrars with approval from the National Communication Authority and become domain resellers, hence generating business for themselves and creating employment.
Businesses with customized domains and emails are perceived to be more trustworthy/credible than those that are using Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail. So this will be the right time to switch to a customized domain/email.
ccTLD offers local targeting and SEO (search engine optimization) benefits. This is a bit technical but let me try to break it down. Using a ccTLD extension gives you a higher SEO value for country-based results on Google, Yahoo, MSN or any other search engine. This is because search engines return different results, including many local ones, depending on the IP address of the person doing the search. This means that if someone in South Sudan does say a search for web design in South Sudan, your South Sudan based ICT company website might appear higher in the search rankings than if you didn’t have the .co.ss extension.
It creates a map for a whole new world of customers. Registering an appropriate ccTLD (or ccTLDs) is undoubtedly a crucial step in managing that presence. Companies with the domain. ss on it will definitely be associated with having operations in South Sudan.
Disadvantages?
I can’t think of any negatives that would come with the ccTLD launch in South Sudan. If there is any disadvantage, it certainly does not supersede the benefits that come with it. Today’s launch is a positive move forward for ICT in South Sudan and hopefully an indication of better things to come.
Written by: Joseph Abuni GAMA, CEO of Dynamic Consult Ltd
