If you use Google on a regular basis, you've seen playful manipulations of the search engine's multicolored logo. The temporary tweaks often appear during holidays—harvest tones and a cartoon turkey might welcome Thanksgiving, for instance, while green hues and shamrocks might herald St. Patrick's Day.

Visitors on April 1 were greeted with something more dramatic: Google had a new name. "Early last month," explained a post at the Official Google Blog, "the mayor of Topeka, Kansas stunned the world by announcing that his city was changing its name to Google. We've been wondering ever since how best to honor that moving gesture."

Accordingly, continued press release, the world's preeminent search engine would surrender a "fair amount" of brand equity by changing its name to Topeka. "Topeka Google Mayor Bill Bunten expressed it best: 'Don't be fooled. Even Google recognizes that all roads lead to Kansas, not just yellow brick ones.'"

To help users make the transition, the post included guidance on the use of Topeka as a verb:

• Best: "Before our blind date I did a Topeka search on him."
• Okay: "Before our blind date I Topeka'ed him."
• Not-So-Good: "Before our blind date I topeka'd him."
• Worst: "Before our blind date I topeka'ed him with AltaVista."

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