Last week the the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Google hired a big name lobbyist and paid the firm $40,000 for roughly a six-month period last year. And, we had some friendly fun with what we thought was a non-story in a world where $40,000 on lobbying is easily spent in a day by many big companies ($40,000 X 365 = $1,460,000). We also thought all the Google-goes-to-Washington stuff was a bit played out.
The New York Times disagreed. Today's paper features a story that says:
(Google) has begun ramping up its lobbying and legislative operations after largely ignoring Washington for years, in a scramble to match bases long established here by competitors like Yahoo and Microsoft, as well as the deeply entrenched telecommunication companies.
In the piece, Esther Dyson is quoted saying:
"It's sad," said Esther Dyson, editor of the technology newsletter Release 1.0 and former chairwoman of Icann, a nonprofit group that plays a role in Internet administration. "The kids are growing up. They've lost youth and innocence. Now they have to start being grown-ups and playing at least to some extent by grown-up rules."
We're not sure this process is "sad", but we get the analogy. And, in keeping with it, the government affairs team is smart and respected group of kids who will do well once they are given the keys to the car and have the resources and full-support to lead instead of react. The lobbying hires that they've made are all good first steps.
What is clear from the undertone of coverage on Google's every little move in Washington, is that some are waiting to see Google "do" Washington like everyone else so they can point and say "I-told-you-so." Others are holding their breaths and rooting for Google to somehow approach the policy making process "differently."
This will be interesting to watch because our bet is that there are dozens of Web 2.0 companies suddenly realizing that they need to pay attention to what is coming out of the mouths of policymakers. They'll likely take their cues from Google before they start reading the Dow Chemical DC playbook.
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