In a new twist on economic development, Topeka is look to rename itself Google! As Google looks at a city’s “commitment” to embrace its ultra high speed broadband, Topeka is pulling out all the stops. Names can be changed, I think tattoos for the city council would show real commitment…
Topeka, KS or Google, KS?
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There is a strange revelation I just read about in the American airlines magazine “Identity Crisis” by Ken Parish Perkins. It seems that cities feel the need to identify themselves in a way that products do. They are spending millions of dollars to have one small set of words define the culture that resides there. This tactic, while I believe millions of dollars are unnecessary, is suitable for cities with a theme centric/ tourism culture like Las Vegas (“What happens here…”). States however, such as Indianapolis, can not successfully tagline because of the diversity of the offering. Topeka has taking this concept to a whole new level; seeping with both short-term and long-term issues. What happens when the news reveals that an executive has had 17 mistresses? Drop the name…? Additioanlly, the average life expectancy of a multinational corporation-Fortune 500 or its equivalent-is between 40 and 50 years. Then what…?
Casey,
The name change would only be for the month of March so it wouldn’t be a permanent change. You bring up an interesting point though about a city’s “identity”. I wonder what Topeka’s motivation behind wanting to be involved in the experiment is? I can’t imagine there is too much going on in Topeka but it might be an effort to align themselves with google or create some PR so people will “identify” Topeka as a cutting edge, center of techology that could bring more businesses to the area. Not sure if there was any other incentive to be a testing ground for the new broadband technology or if the city is just trying to build a Topeka “brand”.
Chris Juda
TEMBA 2010
It appears they are doing it for a PR stunt and to see if google will foot the bill for wireless internet in the city. If they are doing it for PR then I’d say they’ve been pretty successful. Topeka doesn’t normally make the news and I’ve seen coverage in the mainstream media. It has definitely generated discussion. Time will tell what googles response will be.
Casey – You live in a city that does just that ever hear of the “live music capital of the world”? I dont think I am following your argument. Taglines are not just for tourism but industry as well, Motor City and Silicon Valley have been pretty effective. Cities need to grab any advantage they can to retain the talent needed to stay competitive. Topeka is making a 30 day gesture to possibly gain a little press and hopefully a lot of technology. Like Chris mentions they have nothing to lose here. The article isnt proposing permanent corporate sponsorship just an indication of inerest. By the way, where exactly is the state of Indianapolis??
My hometown, Oak Lawn, IL is also making a play to become a test site for ultra-high speed broadband. I was there last weekend and the town has billboards and there is definite buzz amongst the town with the prospect that Google is interested in the town for their pilot. It made the Chicago news, so is a source of pride for residents and urges them to convince Google they are a perfect site for the network.
http://www.oaklawn-il.gov/pdfs/Google%20Oak%20Lawn%20Webpage.pdf
I agree with Matt and Derek, towns all across the country don’t mind a little PR – think it was a smart move by Topeka.
Just to show you how good this blog is at predicting trends
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/different-kind-of-company-name.html
I’m mixed on this one. I see no harm but I see no real good either (unless Google covers the bill)
One side, is that were talking about Topeka, Kansas. Which outside of college basketball I don’t have a reason to. To Derek’s point if it foots the bill then it was worth it.
Other side, I’m not going to go to Topeka anytime soon. What am I going to do, go over there and use the internet?
Rey Garcia
TEMBA 2010
In my opinion, Topeka KS was hoping to get a lot of free publicity and a lot of free technology by renaming itself Google KS. As part of the “Fiber for Communities” program, Google plans to install new Internet connections within communities, giving residents Internet speeds about 100x normal speeds. On April 1, Google pulled off an April Fool’s joke by renaming itself Topeka for that day! Google has reassured that the April Fool’s joke is no indication of Topeka’s likelihood of being selected in the “Fiber for Communities” Program. The winners are expected to be announced sometime later this year.