Miami Internet Business ExaminerPost By Leslie Linevsky“Google Island” sounds like a new reality television show, where GenX’s are dropped on an abandoned piece of rock in the Pacific, with a single iPhone as a resource. Will the crafty GenX-ers place an online order for transportation back to civilization? Or will they have a whole new world delivered overnight?
Of course, the Google Islanders would be searching with “Google.”
The competition to land one of the sought-after Google fiber trials for your city is a brilliant marketing campaign, one conceived before the “campaigning” even started.
It is so Google, on every level. The geniuses who created and launched this campaign have engineered benefits to Google into every step, turn and post.
Local politicians are campaigning, citizens are rallying. "We want Google fiber," they are cheering.
“Google” is in the local news and the national news. Cities are renaming islands, staging promotional events and calling on their creative marketing strategists. Google is everywhere. Want to vote for your city? You must sign into Google with your Google account. Don't have a Google account? Create one. Complete a nomination form and share information about your current internet service, how much you pay, and whether you bundle your internet with your cable and phone. What a data-collection gold mine for Google.
Fan pages on Facebook are rallying support for each city in the running; “Google” is all over Facebook. “Google fiber” is being tweeted and microblogged and retweeted. People want it: "Google fiber for my city," they are shouting.
In the market for a city to host the trial of their ultra-high speed broadband, Google is dangling jobs, revenue and prestige. Google fiber will be 100 times faster than broadband networks available now. By identifying trial cities and establishing data gathering tests, Google is rolling out fiber with an expertly crafted, well-established, nationwide buzz.
“Google Island” is Sarasota’s attempt to woo the internet search giant, Google.
In the ABC Action News story, “Sarasota island temporarily renamed ‘Google Island,” Sarasota Vice-Mayor Kelly Krischner is eying competitors Topeka, Kansas; Duluth, Minnesota; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Chico, California; Davis, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Sarasota has launched an all-out campaign – “I Want Google Fiber in Sarasota,” Krischner is quoted.
What will Google fiber do for the test cities? Competitively priced, ultra-high speed broadband will be a boon for internet business. Google fiber is particularly attractive to web-based businesses, and those that do volumes of work online, like research facilities, communications firms and e-commerce entities. Google fiber means data will fly at tremendous rates of speed, and slowdowns, sluggish connections and weary uploads will be eliminated. Huge amounts of workplace frustration should become a thing of the pre-fiber past. A city that offers Google fiber will attract business investment and technology.
This is a race, and the use of social media to promote the vying cities is exciting. This is what social media does best: rally public opinion. Very quickly, Facebook fan pages have sprung up for the competing cities. Politicians, citizens, business owners are sharing information about the project and how it could benefit their hometowns.
On Facebook, you can become a fan of “I Want Google Fiber in Sarasota.”
Read, post, campaign and rally the support of your friends, and their friends, and their friends. That is how Facebook works. As of today, Sarasota has the 6th most fans of the twenty cities with Facebook “Google Fiber” pages. On Facebook, search “google fiber” to browse the promotional campaigns of other cities across the country.
Get your vote for our Florida city in quickly, applications end March 26th. Floridians can submit an online nomination at Google Fiber for Communities. Hurry, Google wants to get started as quickly as possible. They are certainly having no problem spreading the word.
