A Super .GAY Year: The Top 10 DotGay(est) Moments of 2023

January is often a time of reflection and of looking forward: acknowledging what you have accomplished, and finding ways to improve for the following year.  

At dot-gay we’ve had lots of great things come to fruition: 30+ LGBTQIA+ community interviews, attendance at Pride Campaigns, and more. We’ve selected our Top 10 best moments of 2023 below. Cheers to a year of great impact – we’re looking forward to how dot-gay can bring more light to the community in 2024!  

1.GoDaddy Registry acquires .gay!!!! 

In June 2023, .gay was sold by Top Level Design to GoDaddy Registry. Kristy Lilas, Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at GoDaddy and a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, says:  

“For GoDaddy, offering .gay domains is not just about providing a digital address, but also about creating a vibrant, safe, and authentic online experience for the LGBTQIA+ community and allies. Partnering with .gay help sus proudly contribute to the visibility and empowerment of the community with the goal of fostering representation and inclusion that enables LGBTQIA+ success, inspiration, and confidence. We recognize that .gay is more than just a domain extension – it’s a powerful investment in equity for all LGBTQIA+ people. Together, we champion a digital space where everyone can thrive.”  

2. .gay annual donation to GLAAD and CenterLink, bringing total to over $180,000.

Since our inception in 2019, there are now over 30,000 dot-gay domain registrations across the globe. And with .gay donating 20% of all new registration proceeds to LGBTQIA+ beneficiaries GLAAD and CenterLink, we have brought our annual donation to $181,206.14! 

3. .gay turned 3! 

And we threw ourselves an online birthday party by partnering with some great influencers like George Takei, The Trans Coach, Flvmeprincess, and more. The number three signifies harmony, wisdom and understanding – everything that dotgay stands for. Thank you to those who celebrated with us, and those of you who missed out – stay tuned for our fourth birthday!  

4. We published our THIRD annual Impact Report (and it was a page-turner!) 

You can read the impact report here, but the tl;dr version is that we were able to strengthen the digital safety space within dot-gay, we have 19,000 active registrations, and we were able to reach more than 750M people through our social channels and influencer partnerships.  

5. We attended the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles and New York (on-site event activation and .gay scavenger hunt - social posts and event program placement)  

We had such a great time partnering with .gay beneficiary GLAAD on this year’s Media Awards in Los Angeles and New York! In New York, GLAAD shone a light on the growing threat of anti-LGBTQ violence and rhetoric by featuring Montana transgender State Representative Zooey Zephyr and Oklahoma queer and nonbinary State Representative Mauree Turner. They emphasized the critical importance of representing our communities through our votes. We are proud to support their exceptional efforts through .gay domains. It is an honor to be able to support their incredible work through .gay domains. 

6. Celebrating Pride at the White House 

Our Creative Director, Logan Lynn, was invited by the President and First Lady Biden to join them at the White House for their pride celebration! You can read more about his experience (and see some pics) here.  

7. .gay Trans Visibility (TDOV) Campaign 2023 

We hosted a #MoreThanVisible campaign where we featured a series of Trans individuals who’ve had an impact on the community. Check out our posts here!

8. .gay Pride Campaign online 

We like to think that every day is Pride Day at #DotGay, but we held an awesome Pride Campaign online as well, complete with creators tagging using the #ShowYourPride hashtag and a gift card giveaway! 

9. .gay at Portland Pride 

The #DotGayTeam enjoyed seeing all the love and support for LGBTQ+ communities during Portland Pride. Together, we create a world that embraces equality and acceptance. 

10. .gay at Amsterdam Pride 

Dot-gay attended Amsterdam’s Pride Week this year and were able to meet some fabulous #DotGay friends, including ohheyjake.gay and The Queer Indigo. Read more about our attendance at Amsterdam Pride here.