It's been a tough week for Scotland. For many Scots, the hope that the country would finally end its 307-year-old partnership with the United Kingdom was quickly shattered when its citizens ultimately decided not to break away from British rule in a vote that took place on Sept. 18.
Then, Alex Salmond stepped down as the leader of the Scottish National Party shortly after his push for independence failed. Even long-dead Scots like William Wallace and fictional Scots like Groundskeeper Willie echoed their dismay over the outcome of the Scottish Independence referendum.
But cheer up, guys. There's good news for Scotland this week. The country launched its very own Internet domain on Sept. 23, appropriately spelled ".scot." Scotland now joins the ranks of major cities like New York, London and Berlin to have its very own unique part of the Internet.
Scottish businesses were able to sign up for the web domain back in July, but now the domain is available for anyone to register for. Major social networks with international appeal have already signed up for .scot domains, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, according to a press release announcing the launch of the domain. The primary web address for the Scottish government is also expected to become www.gov.scot in the coming months, Scotland's Finance Secretary John Swinney said.
A recent study commissioned by the UK-based domain name and web-hosting service Fasthosts found that 71 percent of Scottish consumers said they would be more likely to buy from a business that had a .scot domain name.
Between 40 and 50 million people around the world have Scottish connections, according to the official website for the .scot campaign. In fact, the domain name isn't limited by geographic boundaries but is meant to give people, businesses and organizations that identify as Scottish a way to express that identity online.
Another country in the UK, Wales, will also be getting its own domain names, ".wales" and ".cymru," the country's name in the Welsh language. There have also been campaigns to make ".sport," ".gay" and ".canon" registered domain names.
Well, you may not have won independence, Scotland, but at least you have your own little corner of the Internet to call your own. Baby steps.
