Cities Try Silly Antics to Grab Google's 'Golden Ticket'

March 24, 2010— -- Forget decorum. City officials across the country are getting downright goofy for Google.

When the Mountain View Internet giant announced in February that it would choose at least one community in the U.S. to test an ultra high-speed broadband network, no one knew what kind of antics would ensue.

But over the past few weeks, hoping to lure Google and its experimental fiber optic network, everyone from mayors to ice cream makers have pulled out all the stops in what has become a heated nationwide competition.

The mayor of Duluth, Minn. jumped into the frigid waters of Lake Superior to draw attention to his city. In an attempt to one-up him, the mayor of Sarasota, Fla. swam in a tank of bonnethead sharks.

Hoping to boost their city's bid, more than two thousand people in Greenville, S.C. armed themselves with colored glow sticks to create a human-powered Google logo.

Officials in Topeka, Kansas went so far as to re-name the city "Google" (for one month at least). A dairy in Madison, Wisc., created a special "Google fiber" ice cream flavor to attract attention.

In announcing its Google Fiber for Communities project, the company said the experimental network would deliver Internet speeds of 1 gigabit per second or higher, more than 100 times faster than what most people in the U.S. use today.

For many a community still reeling from the recession, that prospect is too appealing to pass over.

"We believe that whatever community Google selects, it's going to transform that local economy," said Duluth mayor Don Ness, who launched his city's bid with a leap into Lake Superior. "It will become a magnet for investors and innovative people who want to be on the cutting edge."

Bringing the Google network to Duluth would level the playing field, he said, and allow the city's talent to compete with the rest of the world.

In Sarasota, Fla., city officials said Google fiber could help diversify an economy that Vice Mayor Kelly Kirschner says relies too heavily on the "two-legged stool of housing and tourism."