Do you want to know "Google's views on government, policy and
politics?" I know. You were just wondering about that. Now you can
read the Google Public Policy Blog.
Information is powerful. Google is a worldwide distributor of information, granted it has a lot more user control than traditional information distributors like newspaper & tv, but it's still a huge purveyor of ideas. The user has to be able to critically sift through all they find on Google.
I'm used to thinking of Google as a search engine, a tech company - even a verb. I'm not sure what to do with this new idea of them shaping public policy, but as an observer of how technology affects our lives I had to note it in my blog.
Now that I think about it a bit more, other companies have influence on government, so it makes sense for Google to have a blog focusing
"on issues like
net neutrality, censorship, innovation regulation, immigration,
R&D, national security, and trade" ("just to name a few"). Google's
public policy team, who author the blog, say that they hope to foster a
"dialogue" with Google users about political issues in order to "do a
better job of fighting for our common interests." (from this post
on readwriteweb.com)
Do other big companies, particularly oil, have blogs about issues affecting their business?
Since my brain hasn't processed this info yet, though I have been thinking, I'll leave you with Josh Catone's conclusion from his Google the Vote post:
"Lobbying and PACs are the more traditional road for corporations to
influence American politics. Google's latest approach leverages social
technologies (the backbone of web 2.0?) to bypass Washington
completely. By creating platforms for candidates and talking directly
to the people, Google has positioned themselves as a major force in
shaping American political policy (and by extension, have a far
reaching global effect). At the same time, Google's political forays
will likely strengthen their brand -- not just by helping them get what
they want politically, but also by associating their name with yet
another staple of American life: the democratic process."
Nothing like a little food for thought with my Berrylicious Oatmeal.
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