Silicon Glen was one of our first Pioneers and is an informative website on Scottish identity online. Here we interview Craig Cockburn, the founder and director, on his experience as a DotScot user & Pioneer.

Why did you decide to become a dotScot pioneer?

It was important to me to help the pioneer programme and as the author of the first ‘online guide’ to Scotland way back in 1994, I felt it was appropriate that the site hosting that guide should be one of the first to use the new domain and to be at the forefront of Scotland’s digital landscape.

What benefits have you experienced with a dotScot web address?

It was important to me to move away from .com which I felt did not really reflect my site’s identity and .uk wasn’t really for me either.

For me .scot is a better fit with my site as .scot is a community bid reflecting Scottish culture and identity and that fitted in better with what my site represents.

Do you use a redirect or host an exclusively .scot domain?

Exclusively .scot

How did you find the experience of being a dotScot pioneer? Have any of your customers/fans/audience noticed the move?

Yes people noticed the move. I mentioned it on social media as well and this attracted positive attention.

Who else do you think should be using a dotScot domain?

Any business or organisation wanting to promote their Scottish identity online, including businesses and organisations that already have Scotland or Scottish in their names. The use of .scot does allow these names in particular to be shortened and become more also memorable. This is especially helpful when typing on a mobile device.

Your favourite dotScot domain?

mygov.scot as it demonstrates an early commitment by the Scottish government to use .scot. Irrespective of independence, I feel the use of the .uk namespace for both UK wide and devolved organisations can become overloaded.

Do you think .scot will help drive greater adoption of online by Scottish businesses?

I think it is helpful as it makes it easier for Scottish businesses to obtain a memorably online brand more easily rather than compete in the busy .com and other namespaces. The use of .scot will also sit well alongside other initiatives such as the rollout of broadband and high speed broadband to more areas in order that businesses in more remote areas can trade effectively online and not be at a disadvantage because of their location.

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