It wasn't only China that Google cofounder Sergey Brin was talking about in Washington DC yesterday. The purpose of his trip primarily was to lobby for net neutrality, to prevent phone companies for charging web sites for better access to them by web surfers. However, Google Is A Tourist In D.C., Brin Finds from the Washington Post covers how being super-powerful in search doesn't equal getting congressional members to drop everything for your visit.
Several meetings Brin wanted to have with US senators couldn't happen at the last minute, leaving him to admit the visit "wasn't very well organized."
Those senators, by the way, have now had their official sites banned on Google. And when they complain, they'll find themselves directed to the standard Google feedback form to make reinclusion requests.
Remember, senators, as we covered yesterday, Google's already gotten a former Alaskan governor back in office despite not being elected.
Back in seriousness, Gary Price has also posted a rundown on Google lobbying attempts from 2003 through 2005. Meanwhile, Reuters has a look at the net neutrality issue Google's pushing here.
Postscript
Just to be clear, it was a joke about senators finding their web sites banned. Google issued no such bans. As for the Alaska governor reference, this story explains more how this is something that's happened accidentally due to the way Google and other search engines craft descriptions.
Early Bird Rates have been extended!
June 12-14, 2013: Join industry experts at SES Toronto for a crash course in the latest strategies in Online Marketing and Advertising.
Save $300 when you register by Thursday, May 23.
