UPDATE: Thanks to cyber-savvy reader Josh Mohland for pointing out this “Mega Challenge” site is a fugazi. In non-scamming circles, the deadline for responses to Google’s fiber bonanza has passed.
Google’s “Mega Challenge for selected U.S. communities to battle for the title of Most Deserving City for Google fiber” — a nationwide contest in which the winning town will be blessed with heretofore un-heard-of speeds in Internet broadband — started yesterday, with Asheville, NC, taking an early lead. The good news for us: After not even ranking as a “selected U.S. community” at the outset, Humboldt County garnered enough write-in votes during Day One to be officially added to the poll options — one of just five communities to achieve that goal.
But if we’re aiming for a win, we’ve got our work cut out for us, people. Vote early and often.
This article appears in College In Revolt.
Thanks Ryan for the Blog post.
Please don’t delete my comment.
VOTE FOR HUMBOLDT COUNTY EVERY DAY UNTIL MAY 5 FOR GOOGLE FIBER OPTIC!!! http://www.googlefiber.com/fiber-optics/
click on my name to get the direct link (easy way to vote, here, folks)
Just FYI, this isn’t an official google site. It’s just a clever marketer who set up a quick site/poll and is trying to cash in on some quick AdSense bucks before Google slaps ’em with a C&D for unauthorized use of their logo/trademark. 🙂
Google’s official site for community fiber is: http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/
–Josh
Josh is correct. I did affiliate marketing with him for a short while. This baby stinks of it.
http://www.johncosborn.com/?p=966
Yes, the poll is not official. Not sure that it’s harmful either. Just someone who puts up a site and tries to get ad revenue from click throughs. So, participate or not, it’s up to you. Sorry if I implied this was something official from Google. It’s not. Thanks for all the enthusiasm though!
Its up to each person to decide what is ‘harmful’.
I for one am simply sick of people making money by tricking people into clicking a mouse, and hoping someones senior parents click on the ad that takes their credit card number and now mom and dad are out 400 dollars, with a nasty virus on their computer.
Neat, huh?
It builds nothing and feeds no one.
In the end, these people harm many.
Where exactly are we headed with all our technology?
Just a thought.
Thou shalt not use the Google name in vain. Its a violation of the TOS.
Can you delete comment #1 and #2? And this one?
Only if you can delete this one.
If I could I would. Please? I am sorry for the error. I feel like an idiot.
I think you’re missing something here. Google Fiber never claimed to be Google. They state at the top of their web page "An Unofficial Place for all things "Google Fiber"" All they have claimed is to try to make Google aware of the city most interested in Google’s high speed internet experiment, according to their pole.
Now Josh may be right that they are getting lots of ad clicks, and boosting their ratings, and bringing in more dollars from their advertisers, but what does a mouse click cost, as long as you don’t agree to buy something? And the advertisers are getting exactly what they want. So why is it a scam? Who is loosing out?
It is a scam because Google is never going to see the results as implied. That means alot of people are wasting there energy voting with someone lurking hoping to take advantage of them. Very misleading and a clear ethical violation. In otherwords, clearly a scam.
Ok, first of all I have been to his page and the adds that he supports are for IT people, not really going to interest little old ladies… Secondly, let him be… so he figured a way to make a little money but more importantly he gave people something to do and hope for. Dont shortchange Google, I am sure that they are well aware of this site and whether or not they give a flip, I dont know, but that doesnt mean people cant make a statement and show support in other ways than the "Official" form that Google released. He never claims that its official and anyone with a first grade education can read that in the headline of his page.