Google is playing along with an amazing April fool joke… they have changed their name to Topeka.com! Check this link:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/different-kind-of-company-name.html

Accoring to the blog  Google was making this change in honor of mayor of Topeka, Kansas who announced that he is changing the name of its city from Topeka to Google!

The blog continues with few funny stuff on what to do next:

• Correspondence to both our corporate headquarters and offices around the world should now be addressed to Topeka Inc., but otherwise can be addressed normally.
• Google employees once known as “Googlers” should now be referred to as either “Topekers” or “Topekans,” depending on the result of a board meeting that’s ongoing at this hour. Whatever the outcome, the conclusion is clear: we aren’t in Google anymore.
• Our new product names will take some getting used to. For instance, we’ll have to assure users of Topeka News and Topeka Maps that these services will continue to offer news and local information from across the globe. Topeka Talk, similarly, is an instant messaging product, not, say, a folksy midwestern morning show. And Project Virgle, our co-venture with Richard Branson and Virgin to launch the first permanent human colony on Mars, will henceforth be known as Project Vireka.
• We don’t really know what to tell Oliver Google Kai’s parents, except that, if you ask us, Oliver Topeka Kai would be a charming name for their little boy.
• As our lawyers remind us, branded product names can achieve such popularity as to risk losing their trademark status (see cellophane, zippers, trampolines, et al). So we hope all of you will do your best to remember our new name’s proper usage:

Finally, we want to be clear that this initiative is a one-shot deal that will have no bearing on which municipalities are chosen to participate in our experimental ultra-high-speed broadband project, to which Google, Kansas has been just one of many communities to apply.

Posted by Eric Schmidt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Topeka Inc.”

Webby awards which honor excellence in internet recently declared top ten events which have changed the internet world. I have added few of my own….

1.    Google search: Google has revolutionized the search engine by creating business and relevant logic. Websites with good back links from a reputed website gets higher ranking than other sites. The algorithm patented by Google is still the best in the industry. Also by creating and providing free tools to its visitors, they have created a new business model of “Free”!

2.    Wikipedia, the free open-source encyclopedia, launched in 2001 and boasts more than 14 million articles in 271 different languages and bringing strangers together on projects. It has made the leader in this industry Britannica encyclopedia run for its money. Britannica can never compete with Wikipedia which updates its content every minute/day versus Britannica’s every two years!

3.    Craigslist: By offering free listings and bringing both seller and buyer together in not-so-technical environment, it has followed the footsteps of goggle by offering this service for Free!

4.    YouTube: Online video revolution in 2006 that led to a boom in homemade and professional content on the Internet and helped reshape everything from pop culture to politics. It gave power to common man, with absolutely no experience in making and publishing video to share their thoughts and views.

5.    Facebook in 2006 created totally new category and media for people to share ideas, thoughts, their likes /dislikes, passion and much more. It connected them even with their friends with whom they had lost contacts for several years and even decades.

6.    Google IPO in 2004 was a paradigm shift in how a company can sell and promote its IPO and how people can bid for them in an auction style stock allotment.

7.    Ebay: Prior to ebay, no one even thought they can trust a total stranger for buying stuff prior to receiving the goods. It brought people with same passion and option to buy things which are nearly impossible to find.

8.    iPhone debut in 2007 made a luxury item to a necessity with an app for just about every aspect of modern life.

9.    Internet and technology usage in 2008 U.S. presidential campaign: The Internet changed every facet of the way campaigns are run. From websites, blogs, banner ads to twitter. From database to personal emails. This campaign used every option and tool to reach their voters.

10. Twitter use in recent Iranian election protests: Twitter proved vital in organizing demonstrations and as a protest too. Even after banning all major news network, the world could ‘see’ things which were not possible without twitter.

I would love to hear from you on your thoughts on things in internet or in technology which have sculptured our future.

Our press release!

In today’s economy, auto repair shops are struggling to get new customers to their shops and retain their existing customers. Additionally, with the high cost of advertising, they are finding it difficult to promote their shops and share any special deals or discounts they want to offer to their customers. To solve this problem and to help auto repair shops reach new customers, Prundo.com (http://www.prundo.com) has launched its auto repair shop portal, which allows all auto repair shops to share their shop details and coupons, special offers/deals with their targeted customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“Auto repair shops spend over $800 per month to promote their shops through printed media, online advertising and other direct mail options. However, all these channels have a big disadvantage of not being able to reach the target customers efficiently and cost-effectively. Prundo.com fills in this gap by providing an online portal, which allows the shops to display their car repair prices, coupons, special offers and deals, whenever the customer is looking for such deals,” said Alka Gupta, CEO of Prundo.com. “As Prundo.com is exclusively targeting auto repair customers, the auto repair shops can reach their targeted audience cost effectively”.

Auto repair shops can register themselves at ( http://www.prundo.com/station_register.php ) and input their auto repair shops details. After registering, auto repair shops can access following great features:

1.    Display Service Station Details: Each shop gets its own unique page with details such as address, phone number, directions, affiliation, working hours, services provided, prices and special offers.

2.    Add/ delete/modify services and offers 24 x 7: Shops can display and change the services and prices directly through their account 24 x7. No need for spending money on reprinting their promotion material.

3.    Easily create coupons from multiple templates: Prundo.com offers free coupon templates which can be easily customized for each auto repair shop.

4.    Free submission to popular online classified websites: Prundo.com submits auto shop details for free to various classified ads for greater visibility of the auto repair shops.

5.    Display Coupons: Shops can display between two to unlimited number of coupons on the website.

Prundo is offering all of the above great features through three subscription models (http://www.prundo.com/station_register.php). They are also offering special promotion of one free month with monthly membership and two free months with annual membership!

About Prundo: Prundo.com , located in Irvine California, is based on a patent pending concept, to make auto repairs easier and cheaper for both, their customers and the auto repair shops. Customers can view and download money saving coupons for brake, tire, oil change and over 30 other routine maintenance and auto repairs needs. Auto repair shops can reach their targeted customers easily and cost effectively through their own auto repair shop portal.