Obamanation: “Google Is Playing A Bigger Role In That Than Anyone Knows” - O & CO Seek World Domination
“Google’s executives and employees overwhelmingly supported Obama’s candidacy, and four Googlers served on his transition team. Google is not just a benign corporate entity. It has a variety of special interests. “A lot of people are united to create a grass-roots service democracy, and Google is playing a bigger role in that than anyone knows.”
Google it:
1.) Google refused to assist the Bush Administration’s efforts to track terrorist threats and communications.
2.) Google assisted Communist China in censorship of information in their country, and alerting the Chinese government to dissent by Chinese using Google.
Reporting from Washington — Another inauguration took place in Washington this week — Google Inc. officially became a political power player.
In October, Google was only hours from being sued by the Justice Department as a Web-search monopolist. Today, less than three years after it made its first Washington hire, the Internet giant is poised to capitalize on its backing of President Obama and pursue its agenda in the nation’s capital.
Google’s executives and employees overwhelmingly supported Obama’s candidacy, contributing more money than all but three companies or universities. And only DreamWorks employees gave more toward inauguration festivities.
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt campaigned for Obama and was one of four Googlers on his transition team. He is now as likely as any corporate chieftain to get his calls to the White House returned.
At the top of the company’s policy priorities are two that consumer advocates largely champion. First, it wants to expand high-speed Internet access so people can use its Web services more often. It also is pushing for so-called network neutrality: prohibitions on telecommunications companies charging websites for faster delivery of their content.
“Google is not just a benign corporate entity. It has a variety of special interests,” said Jeff Chester, the executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, who has sparred with Google over data-privacy issues. “They’re in a great position to push their agenda through with the support of the president and the Democrats in Congress.”
But Google’s newfound political ties heighten concerns about its grip on the online advertising market. The company could play better defense against strong competitors trying to curb its influence.
Last fall, Justice Department lawyers, who had been lobbied heavily by Microsoft Corp. and large telecommunications companies, were about to sue Google on antitrust grounds. They wanted to block its controversial search-advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc., but Google abandoned the deal rather than fight in court.
Competitors worry about Google’s close relationship with the Obama administration, said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
“The question going forward is: Will Google turn into just another business entity looking for favors in Washington, or will it manage to keep the 767 flying at 30,000 feet above the political din?” he said, a reference to the Google founders’ private plane.
White House officials did not respond to requests for comment. Obama vowed generally this week that his administration would not be beholden to anyone.
Google says the main reason it has improved its standing in Washington is that Obama’s tech priorities mirror its own. He has endorsed network neutrality. His technology agenda also calls for expanding broadband Internet access to rural areas and appointing the first government-wide chief technology officer (Schmidt has been mentioned for the position but reiterated this week that he was not interested).
“This administration is more focused on science and technology,” Schmidt said in an interview. “That’s positive for all of technology, and particularly Google.”
Symbolizing its new stature, the company co-hosted a glitzy Inauguration Day party here. The event was studded with celebrities, including Ben Affleck, Jessica Alba and Glenn Close. Though Obama did not make an appearance, the event drew influential political figures such as Obama transition chief John Podesta and Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.).
“A lot of people are united to create a grass-roots service democracy, and Google is playing a bigger role in that than anyone knows,” Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said as dance music echoed through the grand Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.
Obama’s campaign and administration have already embraced Google products. Video of his weekly address is available on YouTube. During the shift from the transition office to the White House, Obama’s press office staff created free e-mail accounts on Gmail until their government accounts were activated.
In November 2007, Obama unveiled his “innovation agenda” during a visit to Google’s Silicon Valley campus. And at an economic forum in Florida two weeks before the presidential election, Obama praised the company as “a cutting-edge innovator.”
On stage with him in Florida was Schmidt, who had publicly endorsed Obama days before. (He said that the support was personal and that the company remained officially neutral.) Schmidt also appeared in a 30-minute infomercial for Obama, and he was appointed to the Transition Economic Advisory Board after the election.
Google’s spokesman in Washington, Adam Kovacevich, said that despite Schmidt’s personal support for Obama, the company has a bipartisan strategy.
“We know that the incoming administration supports a lot of things that we like,” he said. “But we also know you cannot get anything done here unless you have relationships on both sides of the aisle.”
The company’s political action committee gave 57% of its $264,000 in contributions during the 2008 campaign cycle to Democrats, and 43% to Republicans. Google also had a presence at both parties’ national conventions last summer.
But Google’s employees left little doubt whom they supported. They contributed $782,964 to Obama’s campaign and $20,800 to John McCain’s, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Googlers also donated $166,000 for Obama’s inauguration.
Still, the company doesn’t have a clear path in Washington.
Its biggest rival, Microsoft, came in third on the list of top Obama contributors. (It has more than three times as many employees as Google.) And Microsoft’s PAC handed out nearly three times as much money in 2008 as Google’s did.
Microsoft is an old hand here after facing down the government in an antitrust battle a decade ago. And its savvy shows: Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Jeffrey Lindsay said Microsoft outmaneuvered Google last year, drumming up opposition that helped derail the Yahoo search deal.
Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights group that has worked with Google to advance network neutrality, downplayed concerns about the Web giant’s new clout.
“They can put things on the radar screen that might not otherwise be on the radar screen . . . but it’s a long way from being on the radar screen to being put into law,” she said. “There are people on the opposite side of what Google wants who can pick up the phone too.”
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Yea. That’s the thing. Back in the 20’s it was the steel companies that controlled the country, even then there were multiple ones, and they couldn’t control information, or effect speech and communication. Google is at least 100 times worse. We’ve seen in the election it’s ability to silence those with conflicting opinions. Google is shaping opinions through censorship. It’s doing what Communism only dreamed of.
Yahoooooooooooooo.
Rob, what it is doing is communism, and they dreamed big dreams and made them happen. Isn’t that a pity? A company started by two college students as a project, turns into a tool that is used to silence the country and willingly so.
Think the justice dept. isn’t as biased as the President’s politics? Think again…
I reckon I’m just naive, but I haven’t figured out just what Google produces, besides a way to look up information. I don’t see how it is so valuable to its investors.
The issue with google is its ability to read clue words or phrases to stop e-mails to be sent especially to web sites as Pat Dollard. I personaly experienced this problem with Yahoo also so I use Msn seems to work better.
Actually google is VERY valuable for businesses and corporations. Because Google is the largest search engine, it is a key factor in SEO [Search Engine Optimization] And because of that Google has created numerous tools, such as Google Adwords to help out with SEO work. Basically, without Google….you won’t have any online shoppers. It’s pretty sad, Google has become synonymous with internet….even worse, there’s now a google web browser, which is supposed to be twice as fast as Firefox.
Sanders - they bought just about every software group… for example I bought Starry Night Software 3 years ago, they are now owned by Google.
Plus, Google is an evil being…anyone see those Google sketches on youtube? here’s one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYVLpC_8SQE
Well you know what that means? Word better finnish up with the bunker.
We’d have to have an IQ entrance test too….just to keep the libs out. 
That girl’s breasts look painful. I guess there are some men here that would “massage”them for her, right?
heh heh heh…..
Amy, thank you very much for making an old mans day.
Google used to be a great search engine at one time. Not anymore. I used to do alot of computer reasearch through Google, and I’d come up with an answer right away.
Now if you want computer solutions, you either have to be an expert on the topic, or belong to an agency that has experts and a searchable database.
Fuck Google. They and Wikepedia have lived out their usefulness.
use ask.com
In my use, every bit as good as google. But not google.
Hey, Newhuman, can I download an Ask.com toolbar? I might just have to dump google. Though, I gotta hang on to Google Earth a bit longer.
It’s okay, microsoft is riding google’s ass now in court as well as several other companies.
“CUIL” A new search engine, been using it off and on for a while.
I have know about Google for a long time. Every see any Google graphics for Christmas or Easter or Veteran’s Day? That is why I use anything else but Google. Fuck them. And I don’t believe for one minute that Google is synonymous with the internet. Yahoo gives just as good results. I never had a problem finding what I was looking for.
Many people I work with pointed out to me how pro-Obama Google was with glee. I stopped using them a while back because of it. I use Yahoo mostly.
amy
“That girl’s breasts look painful. I guess there are some men here that would “massageâ€them for her, right?
”
That was what I thought when I saw them too!
Ow!
I’ve never used it but it looks like there is an ask toolbar. (I just typed in ask.com toolbar)
I used this one for a while, but I stopped because I found it to be pretty bad.
During the last few week of the election, no matter what I was searching for an Obama related site would show up in the top 3 or 4 results. Is there any question that if you use google to research any political hot topic it will push you towards the pro-Obama sites
I’ve had several incidences recently of my anti virus software asking me if I want to allow Google Toolbar installer access. I already have it, blocked recent access events, may very well remove it from my machine now.
I got rid of google a while back. Its a lot of work though. Its like a virus it attaches itself to a lot of things. And it keeps trying to come back.
g(.)(.)gle pic
Yea,
back during the election I googled “bruce springsteen’s lyrics” to check out some referance I had heard to them.
The top, first freakin’ return was:
bruce springsteen endorses obama
I vowed to never use them again.
-HL
Dogpile.com works just fine.
For now.
I found it interesting that google censors and cleanses much of the anti Obama sites. So if you google them it comes back a pro Obama site. I am not computer literate, but everyone that I spoke with knew that google was for Obama.
Dogpile actually uses google though. (look under the search bar.)
I still think ask.com is every bit as good as google.
Holy shit your right.
Just switched over to ask.com.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Those breasts are waaay too big.
Yeah, I’m lying.
I’m trying Ask now. Thanks for the suggestion.
For you FireFox users you can easily add Ask to the Search List and compare it with other Search sites. That’s what I’m doing.
If it kicks google arse I’ll make it my default. I installed Microsoft’s Live Search in my Search List too. It’s pretty good too.