In order to vie for an internet opportunity, Topeka, Kansas will now be Google, Kansas.
Bill Bunten, mayor of Topeka, Kansas, says that the U.S. is behind global standards in internet connection speed. So, he decided to change the name of the city for a month to try to get into Google's "Fiber for Communities" program.
"The Web giant is going to install new Internet connections in unannounced locations, giving those communities Internet speeds 100 times faster than those elsewhere, with data transfer rates faster than 1 gigabit per second."
The mayor believes that the faster internet connection will encourage the youth to stay and, therefore, businesses to develop.
The change in name isn't a first for the city, they renamed themselves ToPikachu for a day in 1998 after the growth in Pokemon popularity.
In case you are interested in Google's experiment:
7 comments:
This makes me happy. I have one question - do I have to pull out the colored pencils every time I write this city's name down?
I love this. Makes me want to go to Topeka. I'm glad they still have a sense of humor...and its for a good cause...
--Caleb
This is awesome. Go Topeka. Way to think outside the box Mr. Mayor.
This is awesome! I want to be from Google! and Hannah you might have to pull out the different colored pencils to write the name
I'm a huge fan. Google and I are on a first name basis!
Austin needs to win this race!
Yes, very good lure to try and get the Google broadband experiment to choose them, except that about 5 other cities did the same thing. I must show my Austin roots and loyalty here and say I hope they do not get it instead of us. I voted for Austin to receive the Google gift of experimentation and you all can as well at biggigaustin.org. I advise all in this area to do so!
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