Universal Human Identifier

Or just say, 'Hi'!

A Modest Proposal: Overload “Domain Names” as “Universal Human Identifier”.

Or, a Hi.

A Better Name

While writing this dispatch, the term “domain name” started feeling increasingly incorrect based on the near-future I was describing.

The term “domain” was used as it historically represented collections of users and computers on the Internet, much in the way we (as a species) tend to sort each other into arbitrary, heirarchical taxonomies.

• .com – commercial enterprise
• example.com – example commercial enterprise
• person.example.com – person at an example commercial enterprise

But, on a human-to-human level, it just seems off. So, while it may persist that the technical name for domains are just, well, domains, maybe constructions of domains could be called something else, doing away with the term “domain” all together when humans talk about it.

This is the beginning of what could be a Universal Human Identifier. A universal HI.

Mine, for instance, is gruen.us.

• .us – top-level domain for United States citizens and residents
• gruen.us – Me in the United States
• spawn.gruen.us – A HI for any potential offspring I might have (currently unclaimed).

Ok, Ok, Ok…

Calling this a Universal Human Identifier a Hi probably won’t stick, even though I love the 👋 symmetry. Branding experts are nodding with me on this one, so some other suggestions:

• Universal Name Identifier (UNI) - “yoo-nee”
• Calling Card (CC) - “cee cee”
• Universal Electronic Identifier (UEI) - “you-ee”
• Quick Universal Handshake (HI5) - “high-five”

I’m sure someone more clever than me can do better.

Did you know Alexander Graham Bell’s preferred way to answer the phone was ahoy-hoy!, and not hello?? I’m sure something will emerge.