Google TiSP: Happy April Fools’
Sunday, April 1, 2007
This year Google continues its reign of April Fools’ awesomeness with the announcement of Google TiSP (BETA), their new FREE in-home wireless broadband service. TiSP stands for Toilet Internet Service Provider. Let me present a couple of key quotes from the TiSP installation guide:
Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.
You can also choose to request our professional installation service, which dispatches an army of factory-trained, sub-contracted nanobots from the TiSP Access Node. The nanobots travel with exhilarating nano-speed through the sewer system and into your home to perform the installation service.
There are three levels of TiSP service: Trickle, The #2, and the Royal Flush. Here is a gem from the TiSP FAQ:
We believe that all users deserve free, fast and sanitary online access. To offset the cost of providing the TiSP service, we use information gathered by discreet DNA sequencing of your personal bodily output to display online ads that are contextually relevant to your culinary preferences, current health status and likelihood of developing particular medical conditions going forward.
What makes all of this even more awesome is that people are actually falling for this, as documented by select posts in the Google TiSP Help Group.
Other April Fools’ Day Google product releases (real and imaginary) have included: Gmail Paper (2007, fictitious), Google Romance (2006, fictitious), Google Gulp (2005, fictitious), Gmail (2004, factual), Lunar/Copernicus Center (2004, fictitious), PigeonRank (2002, fictitious), and so on. Wikipedia has more information about past Google hoaxes.