Intel consigns Cornish town to oblivion
Panic in Penryn at Google search relegation
You know things are bad when something's value is predicated by its standing in the Google search rankings, but that's exactly what's happening down at the Cornish town of Penryn - apparently consigned to oblivion by Intel's chip of the same name.
This is Cornwall explains: "A week ago, typing Penryn into the Google search engine...would have immediately brought up information about the Cornish town in the top position. But now Penryn is slipping down the ratings as hordes of computer users around the world click on to find out more information about the new range of Intel computer processors."
Oh dear. Kevin Pickup, big cheese down at i-webmarketing, "a Cornish company which helps firms optimise their search engine position", explained the possible apocalyptic implications of the cyber-relegation: "This is going to be a huge problem for Penryn businesses. Although the chip isn't even on the market yet, there's already a huge buzz. Web pages relating to the Intel Penryn are starting to displace local businesses in the search results.
"As people who search the internet rarely look past the first couple of pages of results, the Cornish websites will effectively disappear from search engines."
Of course, Intel will rename Penryn (the chip) in due course, but that could come too late for Penryn (the town). Pickup continued: "Even if they announce a new name, it will take up to a year for it to come off the placements. Businesses need to look at their keywords and maybe change a few things."
Intel has moved quickly to assure Penrynians that they will not be forced to shut up shop and move to a more Google-prominent location. The UK's Intel marketing manager Chris Hogg offered: "It's just a codename that we're using - we have no plans whatsoever to use it as a brand. Once we start using the official product name, people will quickly stop using the codename. Cornwall is one of my favourite holiday destinations and I think Penryn is a delightful town." ®
COMMENTS
What about Brisbane?
What ever will become of all the citizens of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane when all the AMD fans are looking for that term?
Personally, I'm waiting for my home town to come up as a codename for a CPU... Intel, AMD, Via... Who cares.... I'll buy one just cause it's got the codename.
Tinfoil hats, so easily made: must not cover eyes.
"Umm, could that be because there are far more links to, hits for and interest in cutting edge technology from a global brand than there is for a small Cornish Town?"
Most likely, at least in this instance. Is this not obvious to you?
It certainly was to me, I used my opportunity to respond to this article as comment on general Google behaviour. You used your opportunity to respond to this article as a humorless dig at me whilst hiding behind anonymity, well done.
BTW, I live in the UK and I have tried several gauges(thickness) of tinfoil and sheet aluminium to make my hats, but alas, this approach just does not work against cameras.
Penryn is local to Folsom
I drive past the Folsom intel facility at least twice every day.
It seems they have been picking the names of towns from around here. So we have Penryn. Some guesses for code names, Newcastle, Auburn, Rocklin, Ophir, Coloma, Georgetown, Foresthill etc etc.
My family is from this area, the newcastle auburn and penryn area.
Adding insult to injury
To add insult to injury, the chip isn't even named after the Cornish town. It's named after a rural locale in the Sierra foothils of California.
http://blogs.intel.com/technology/2007/04/penryn.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penryn,_California
Get Ya tinfoil hats!
"Google have a habit these days of placing the most financially attractive links(for Google shareholders) at the top or even on the first few pages of a search result."
Umm, could that be because there are far more links to, hits for and interest in cutting edge technology from a global brand than there is for a small Cornish Town?
Na. Cant be that. It must be the Lizard Men promoting there gole of wipeing out small towns by using the New World Order to slowly distroy the profitability of EComerce by reducing there Google ranking, going one town at a time.
