Naturally, when the competition is this fierce -- for the fiber network -- you've got to stand out. And acting a little kooky is one way to show Google you care, even if you come across as, well, a little desperate. Here are five particularly nutty publicity stunts:
Nothing says "we care" quite like hypothermia. Perhaps that's what Don Ness, mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, was thinking when he in February. Question: Will Ness' plunge sway Google's execs to choose Duluth? Or will they simply ponder the of 35-degree water on male shrinkage?
Why suffer shrinkage with you can swim with sharks? Sarasota, Florida mayor Richard Clapp donned a wetsuit and took a quick dip last week in a local shark tank, according to the Sarasota .
The bonnet-head sharks were "well fed," the newspaper reports. And that's good news for the Mayor Clapp, unless he was trying to show his support for Google's dismemberment benefits.
Or maybe sharks use broadband. There's a deeper meaning here somewhere.
Topeka, Kansas is now...Google, Kansas! City leaders issued a February making the symbolic name change for the month of March 2010. The attention-grabbing stunt did grab headlines, but its ability to sway Google remains unclear.
Let's up the ante a bit: All first-born children in Topeka shall be named "Google" for perpetuity. Do we have the gig, Google?
Like Topeka, the Southern California city of Rancho Cucamonga chose to Googlize its name. But at least it limited its sycophancy to the city's fiber-optic campaign, which is named . Come to think of it, "Rancho Googlemonga" may be an improvement over the city's true name.
This stunt has a rave-like feel. Greenville, South Carolina in March created a "" with more than 2,000 LED glow sticks to spell out the name "Google." It's a cool concept -- check out the -- if sort of freaky in a cult-like way.
One thing's for sure: The folks at Google are masters of free publicity. All of this adulation -- and they've yet to lay one strand of fiber.
Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter ) or at .