Google has stepped up its lobbying efforts in the last two years, moving from a single lobbyist in Washington to a staff of 12. While that’s still about half of the 23 that Microsoft employs, it’s also double what most companies have. Jeffrey Birnbaum of the Washington Post provides a good overview of Google’s efforts in Learning From Microsoft’s Error, Google Builds a Lobbying Engine.
He notes that while Sergey Brin had trouble getting meetings with Congress just two years ago, now he and other Google execs are popping up to testify on topics like Net Neutrality, immigration, online video, and the wireless telecommunications spectrum. Google also plans to create a series of tutorials for congressional aides, called Google 101 to help them learn to use Google’s search tools better and faster.
Outside of Washington, Google launched its new Public Policy Blog this week to share its policy-making efforts with the world, and solicit ideas for future lobbying.
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