Just back from a week of ICANN meetings in Dakar. Is it just me, or is the new top-level domain program starting to feel like a TLD triathlon, where everyone’s now jockeying for position in the final stage — a grueling marathon?

When ICANN’s board approved the new gTLD plan in Singapore, it came with the promise of small but substantive changes to improve the program. I hope that wasn’t empty rhetoric, because as exciting as the program may be, it must be improved if it is going to fulfill its promise to global Internet users and their governments.

There may be no better illustration of how far we’ve come in Internet governance, than this: twice in the past 30 days, the global Internet community has gathered in sub-Saharan Africa to plot a path to bring the Internet to its next billion users.  Just weeks after wrapping up the sixth annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Kenya, Internet stakeholders from around the world traveled back to Africa for ICANN’s 42^nd meeting in Dakar, Senegal.

Fifteen years ago, nearly every important decision about the Internet was made in the United States.  But in less than thirty days, the African continent will have hosted two of the most important global Internet policy events of the year.

Here at the IGF in Kenya, we’re debating how governments, private sector, and civil society can improve the multi-stakeholder model that’s helped the Internet become such a vital part of life around the world.

Makes me think of another kind of multi-stakeholder model I saw last week on a photo safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. Out there on the savannah, grazing animals have evolved cooperative behaviors to reduce the risk of being overtaken by their natural predators. You can watch gazelle, antelope, zebras and wildebeests grazing the same patch of grass or sipping from the same waterhole, while a few take their turn watching out for cheetahs and lions.

Today we published our September 2011 “iAWFUL” list of bad Internet laws.  The worst offenders are new burdens on small businesses using the Internet, plus a Puerto Rico bill restricting how 17-year-olds can use social networking.

Our Internet Advocates’ Watchlist For Ugly Laws (yep, iAWFUL is an acronym) is the 10 items of state and federal legislation that pose the greatest threat to the Internet and e-commerce.

The ICANN community here in Singapore is celebrating after the historic vote to expand top-level domains (TLDs). And while I wouldn’t begrudge anyone a few Singapore Slings, I think it’s a little early to start celebrating. The marathon effort ICANN began 5 years ago isn’t even close to reaching the finish line.