A handful of American cities are hoping to become testing grounds for a new fiber optic Internet connection being offered by Google. To catch the company's eye, many of these cities are making concerted -- and sometimes audacious -- efforts.
Being picked to host the Google fiber optic could be an economic boon for these cities, which expect to see an influx of tech companies moving to town to take advantage of the faster Internet connection.
Topeka, Kansas, for example, recently changed its name (unofficially) to Google, Kansas. Mayors of other cities have performed a variety of wacky stunts to get Google's attention. This piece from NPR looks at some of those efforts.
"Duluth Mayor Don Ness even took a February dip in the icy waters of Lake Superior just to get Google's attention.
In response, the mayor of Sarasota, Fla., went for a swim in a shark tank.
Sarasota also recruited Los Angeles singer-songwriter Lindsey Ray to do a jingle. A sample lyric: 'There's no limit to all the things that I can do, now that I found you, thank you Google Fiber.'"
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