Google has just opened a new Labs project, called In Quotes, to the public. The site allows users to compare quotes from various political figures, displaying key excerpts from speeches and interviews that they've given recently.

By default the site is presenting quotes from US Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, contrasting the things they've said on such issues as Iraq, marriage, abortion, and the economy. Users can click a "Spin" button to compare two randomly chosen quotes, or they can choose to cycle through them manually. All quotes are pulled from Google News stories that have appeared in the last few weeks. There are 20 political figures available in the United States version of the site, with other editions available for Canada, India, and the UK.

Read more: washingtonpost.com 

Labels: In Quotes, labs, political

While I suspect this initiative will be as carefully crafted by the respective Presidential campaigns as their TV commercials and speeches, give credit to Google for putting together a cool initiative for users of Google Reader that might bring more users into the fold along the way. The popular RSS reader has just launched “Google Power Readers in Politics,” a collection of Shared Items from the McCain and Obama campaigns, along with those of high powered political journalists like Arianna Huffington and Patrick Ruffini.

On Power Readers in Politics, you can browse what each of the candidates and journalists is sharing, and like any Google Reader shared items feed, subscribe to it via RSS. Each user’s shared items page also includes a list of their favorite sites to read. The homepage is a mashup of the most recently shared content from all of the participants.

Read more: mashable.com 

Labels: McCain, Obama, political, reader

Anderson Cooper and CNN will host a presidential debate Monday night, but YouTubers will be the ones asking the questions. For weeks, YouTube users have been posting videos of themselves posing questions they want asked during the Democratic Party candidate debate. A similar debate among Republican Party candidates is scheduled for September.

In a major change to most stodgy political debates, YouTube and CNN are teaming up to let regular YouTubing Americans ask the nation's most influential politicians the hard-hitting questions.

YouTubers have been posting videos of themselves asking questions that CNN will select and present live to viewers and the Democratic Party candidates vying for the party's presidential nod. CNN's Anderson Cooper will moderate the two-hour debates and pose follow-up questions Monday evening at 7 p.m. EST.

Full article: ecommercetimes.com 

Labels: Anderson Cooper, CNN, debate, political, youtube

At the beginning of 2005, I was Google's lone public policy guy. Today, there's a bigger – and growing - team of us scattered around the world, working on issues like privacy, child online safety, copyright and trademark protection, content regulation, reform of the patent system, and broadband policy. These issues are fundamental to the future of the Internet (and of the individuals it empowers), and are increasingly prominent on the agendas of policymakers worldwide.

We're seeking to do public policy advocacy in a Googley way. Yes, we're a multinational corporation that argues for our positions before officials, legislators, and opinion leaders. At the same time, we want our users to be part of the effort, to know what we're saying and why, and to help us refine and improve our policy positions and advocacy strategies. With input and ideas from our users, we'll surely do a better job of fighting for our common interests.

This blog is part of the dialogue we're hoping to foster.

Read more: Google Public Policy Blog 

Labels: blogs, policy, political, public

New York Times' columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Friedman spent an hour chatting with Google CEO Eric Schmidt this morning at the Personal Democracy Forum (PDF.)

It was a casual conversation, and one of the most striking images that stayed in my mind was Schmidt's account of his own job interview with Google's founders, who had apparently data mined information about him, and projected the search results onto the wall as the interview commenced. The general point being made was Google's power to shape people's reputation, and how it will play out in general (unrelated) political processes.

Read more: Wired.com 

Labels: CEO, Eric Schmidt, interview, political

Bill Richardson intends to call on Americans to give up some of their creature comforts in the name of the environment and energy independency and reconsider their air conditioning, washing machines and the cars they drive when he unveils his energy policy later this week.

During an appearance Monday afternoon at Google headquarters in Mountain View, the New Mexico governor and Democratic presidential aspirant gave a preview of his plan for "a national transformation" driven by community will, massive tax credits and subsidies, and private investment in renewable energy.

Full article: Hispanic Business 

Labels: headquarters, Mountain View, political