Posted by Alan Davidson, Director, Public Policy and Government Affairs It's hard to believe that another spectacular year is already coming to a close. It seems like just yesterday I was waxing nostalgic about our achievements in 2007. Here are just a few highlights from 2008:There's no place like home grand opening of our permanent Washington office in January. Since then we've welcomed literally thousands of guests - from state finalists and regional Doodle4Google winners to Hispanic College Fund scholars - for dozens of events large and small. (Not to be outdone, the Federal division of Google's Enterprise Sales group moved into their own new office in nearby Reston, VA this year.)state of the Internet economy to digital natives , and in November we launched a three-part series of "Talks" focusing on the 2009 technology policy agenda.Keeping busy at the FCC 700 MHZ spectrum auction . Google didn't pick up any spectrum licenses, but our bidding helped drive the auction past the $4.6 billion reserve price, triggering two key openness conditions : open access and open devices. Then in November, the FCC voted 5-0 to open up the "white spaces " spectrum for wireless broadband service for the public, paving the way for affordable, high-speed wireless Internet across the United States - in other words, "Wi-Fi on steroids ."The Google/YouTube election Google and YouTube leading the way. Millions of Americans watched thousands of videos of Barack Obama and John McCain on YouTube. They used Google's Voter Info site to find out where to vote, how to register, and how to contact local election officials. Google and YouTube were out in force at the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention , and on Election Day, users flocked to Google Maps as real-time election results rolled in.YouTube . It will be interesting to watch how he'll use the Internet to communicate with citizens once he takes office.Yahoo ads deal ads deal that would have allowed Yahoo to show more relevant ads for searches that currently generate few or no advertisements. We spent a lot of time explaining the benefits of the deal, but it became clear that government regulators and certain advertisers still had concerns. Rather than become distracted by a protracted legal battle, we decided to end the agreement in November and instead focus on continuing to deliver innovative products for our users. Googlers on the Hill May and September to push for "white spaces," and in November Eric talked about the economy and clean energy. And several Googlers testified before Congress this year on issues like small business, privacy, free expression, competition, and energy efficiency: David Fischer , Jane Horvath , Nicole Wong , David Drummond , and Dan Reicher .
Its been a great year using Google products (as it has helped keep me more organized more than ever!)
ReplyDeleteEven though I did not see eye to eye with your Yahoo deal (I'm for an independent Yahoo--that means no to Microsoft as well as Google) I am glad about how you have shaped (and continue to shape) the internet politically.
One thing you seem to have left out is Android launching on T-Mobile's G1 this year. What's up with that? (was this post written by an iPhone lover--and yes, I do have an iPhone for the record)
Anyways, keep up the great work!
~Darnell Clayton
This blog is quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteI probably read about 5 - 6 different Google blogs on Adwords, Adsense, etc.. but this provides a different perspective on broader policy issues affecting Google and the online community in general.
@ Darnell - I agree that I also wanted to see Yahoo separate from Google.
Please remove to appropriate location.
ReplyDeleteMy congratulations to the Google banner composer on today's depiction of the Obama Bailout Plan flowchart. How Clever!