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Eric Schmidt may have turned down the job of Obama’s CTO, but he’s still part of the President-elect’s transition team. And during this transition time, the Google CEO will give a speech about the future of technology and economic growth.

The speech will take place in DC, next Tuesday, November 18, 2008 from 1:00 - 2:30pm EST. The event is hosted by the New America Foundation and will occur at the Ronald Reagan Building Ampitheater at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW. Be sure to RSVP if you wish to attend.

Can’t attend? There will be a live webcast. Click on the RSVP link above to watch. You’ll need Flash 9.

Google is ending its search advertising partnership with Yahoo. It was never even implemented. Concerns over antitrust issues rose fast and furious since Google + Yahoo = an enormous chunk of the search ad market.

Groups of advertisers spurred on by Microsoft lobbied the Department of Justice to oppose the deal. But they might have just facilitated the search market going from 5 major engines to 4, providing less competition.

Yahoo is in dire straits and desperately needed this influx of cash. It’s looking more and more likely that their stock could drop (fairly or unfairly) to single digits, at which point Microsoft could get a great deal on a company they once offered $31 a share for.

Take that number 4 and reduce it to 3 if a Yahoo-AOL merger occurs before the (inevitable?) acquisition.

Both Google and Yahoo are saying that the cancellation of the deal won’t affect their commitment to search innovation.

I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that election day is next Tuesday. Whether you’re observing or you’re breaking out the campaign gear for some hardcore get out the vote effors this weekend, here are some tools to help you keep up with the news and your efforts:

Google Earth

You can download a KML file that lets you search results from past elections, since 1980. The data is broken down and can show you how different regions of the country voted - even by county. I used to work as a political consultant, and let me tell you - this kind of data is heavily relied on. It’s a bit of a late release for campaigns, who already have this data. But it’s great for political junkies.

Google News

Trying to remember what a candidate said on an issue? Just type their name into Google News. If Google has indexed a quote by that person, it will appear on top of the search results in the one box.

Google Mobile

Want to know your precinct location? The Google Mobile team has created a special tool just for that purpose. Go to m.google.com/elections on your mobile phone, type in your address and you’ll be directed to your precinct.

The tool did not point me to early voting locations, which in my state are not the same as Election Day precinct locations.

As cool as that is, always verify with your local elections office. Google even helps you do that. They have a box where you enter your state’s abbreviation, and it will pull up relevant links to voting information.

Yahoo Elections Hub and Political Dashboard

Yahoo makes the most of its successful portal platforms with its Elections Hub and Political Dashboard. The dashboard is a super slick map showing the latest poll results. Hopefully they update it with real time results on election night. I can totally see myself keeping the dashboard open while watching results come in on the tv.

Microsoft Live Search xRank

xRank, Live Search’s buzz tool, has a politician section. It’s no surprise that the Rep and Dem presidential and vice presidential candidates take the top 4 spots today. The rest of the top 20 is filled with senate and gubernatorial races, with Hillary Clinton and George Bush thrown in for good measure.

MSN Election Live Q&A

Q&A is Live Search’s answer product, and over at the MSN Election Guide, you can find the Election Live Q&A. It’s pretty straightforward. You can ask and answer questions about the election in real time.

AOL Elections Toolbar

AOL has a toolbar for IE and Firefox that can keep you up to date with election news. If you like to surf the net while watching TV - this could be an ideal toolbar for you come Tuesday night.

Well, hopefully that’s enough to keep you busy and up to date.

Got any tools to share? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Related Reading:
Obama is Winning the Internet War
ChaCha Selected by Rock the Vote for Mobile Answers

Lawrence Lessig, a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, will be giving the opening keynote at Search Engine Strategies Chicago on Monday, Dec. 8, 2008. The title of his keynote is “Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy.”

And, if you read the description of Professor Lessig’s keynote in the conference agenda, it says: “The content industry has convinced industry in general that extremism in copyright regulation is good for business and economic growth. That’s false. In this talk, Professor Lessig describes the creative and profitable future that culture and industry could realize, if only we gave up IP extremism.”

What is he getting at?

Well, “Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy” also happens to be the title of Professor Lessig’s new book, which just went on sale on Amazon.com.

And, according to the editorial reviews on Amazon.com, “The author of Free Culture shows how we harm our children — and almost anyone who creates, enjoys, or sells any art form — with a restrictive copyright system driven by corporate interests. Lessig reveals the solutions to this impasse offered by a collaborative yet profitable ‘hybrid economy’.”

It goes on to say that Professor Lessig, who is the reigning authority on intellectual property in the Internet age, “spotlights the newest and possibly the most harmful culture war — a war waged against our kids and others who create and consume art.” It adds, “America’s copyright laws have ceased to perform their original, beneficial role: protecting artists’ creations while allowing them to build on previous creative works. In fact, our system now criminalizes those very actions.”

How does it do that? Well, Professor Lessig argues that “biting” riffs from films, videos, or songs shouldn’t be crimes. Why? It makes felons out of some of today’s most talented artists.

Professor Lessig argues that the way to end this war is to embrace what he calls the “read-write culture,” which allows its users to create art as readily as they consume it. And he can already see glimmers of a new hybrid economy that combines the profit motives of traditional business with the “sharing economy” evident in such websites as Wikipedia and YouTube.

Wow. That’s strong stuff. And, if we play buzzword bingo at SES Chicago 2008, then there are a couple arcane business concepts that we can use on our bingo cards.

But, this short blurb may not do justice to Professor Lessig. So, I emailed him some questions about the topic of his opening keynote. And he emailed me his answers — quickly, I might add.

Here is our Q&A:

Q: Who benefits and who is harmed by extremism in copyright regulation?

A: Benefits: Lawyers (certainly). The record companies (maybe). Harmed: Artists, businesses, consumers — and a generation of (criminalized) kids.

Q: What are the “read-write culture” and the “hybrid economy”?

A: A RW culture is one where ordinary people are empowered to participate in the creation and recreation of their culture. Every culture in human history has been RW, save for a few dark years in the 20th century.

A hybrid is a commercial entity that tries to leverage value out of a sharing economy, or a sharing economy that tries to use a commercial entity to support it. Either way, two radically different cultures need to learn how to work together with each other.

Q: When will this war on our kids stop, the “read-write culture” be reborn, and the “hybrid economy” start to flourish?

A: When policy makers are woken up to the extraordinary cost this war is imposing.

Q: Where can we already see glimmers of a new “hybrid economy” that combines the profit motives of traditional business with the “sharing economy”?

A: I think everywhere around us. All of the interesting Internet businesses today are hybrid: Flickr, Second Life, Yelp!, even Amazon builds much of its business from the sharing activity of its customers.

Q: Why is IP extremism bad for business and economic growth?

A: Practice moderation. When the lawyers in the room start insisting that the licenses you create must impose perfect control over everything you have, ask them to prove it. Ask them to demonstrate that the business return from that relationship of antagonism is higher than its cost. Don’t give over your business’ future to those who don’t think like a business man or woman. Keep focused on the only undeniable truth: IP is an asset. Like any business asset, it should be deployed to maximize the value of the corporation.

Let me add that I’ve watched the 19-minute-long video of Professor Lessig speaking at last year’s TED Conference as well as the 4-minute 35 second video from OpenSourceCinema which is embedded below. So, I am confident that he will rock the house at Search Engine Strategies Chicago.

Lessig Remix

Professor Lessig was also named one of Scientific American’s Top 50 Visionaries, for arguing “against interpretations of copyright that could stifle innovation and discourse online.” He’s on the board of the Creative Commons project has served on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He was also a columnist for Wired, Red Herring, and the Industry Standard.

In other words, he’s a speaker worth coming to SES Chicago to hear. And, yes, I do think I’ll put some of his arcane business concepts on a buzzword bingo card.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is in favor of freeing up the “white spaces” in the tv spectrum between television stations. While concerns over interference have been made by some groups, testing has not shown that to be a problem. As Techdirt points out, the complications found in testing were from failed devices, not interference.

Martin is seeking a vote from the full commission on the matter as early as November 4th, which just so happens to be another important election day.

Related Reading:
Google to Internet, FCC, Verizon and Viacom: Keep it Open
Google Joins the “Internet for Everyone” Initiative

Google has opened a new office in Reston, Virginia and staffed it with sales people tasked with getting their products used in the government. Their neighbors include widely known government contractors including Northrup Grumman and Raytheon.

Their challenge is to convince government agencies to shift to a cloud computing method. Of course, when you’re dealing with so much confidential information, the gravity of the challenge seems intense indeed.

There is also a Washingtonian sense that the more complex a program is, the more sophisticated it must be. This works against Google’s success which is largely based on making things easier on the user.

What works in Google’s favor is that workers want to see the same kind of simple-yet-advanced programs at their workplace that they use in their personal life.

What do you think of Google’s government aspirations? Let us know in the comments.

via Washington Post

Related Reading:
Larry Page to Keynote White Spaces Advocacy Event in DC
Google Getting Serious About Lobbying U.S. Government
Google Launches Public Policy Blog

Tomorrow, Google co-founder Larry Page will keynote the “Broadband for the Future Event” in Washington, DC. The event is designed to advocate for white spaces, something Google has been adamant about for a long time.

If you’re unaware, white spaces are a unused airwaves between TV stations. Google wants them to be used for free nationwide wireless. Opponents say that it will interfere with the television signals.

Here’s the details on the event if you wish to attend.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
11:30 am - 1:00 pm ET
Room SD-G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Related Reading:
Google to Internet, FCC, Verizon and Viacom: Keep it Open
Google Joins the “Internet for Everyone” Initiative
Google Opens Up About Spectrum Auction

Google has made it optional for AdWords users to place the “Google Site Stats” logo on their conversion pages. Originally, the logo was designed to let customers opt out of conversion tracking. But advertisers told Google that the logo was often a redundancy of their site’s own privacy policy.

If you want to remove the logo, it will require action on your part. Click here to learn the steps to take.

What do you think about the change? Are you planning to remove the logo? Let us know in the comments.

Related Reading
Google AdWords Separates Content and Search Network Stats - FINALLY!
Google AdWords Now Provides Geographic Performance Report

Google is none-too-thrilled about a SearchIgnite study suggesting that search advertising prices would increase by 22%. Now they’re fighting back by saying the study was misleading. Here are their main points:

• Ad prices are not set by Yahoo! or Google, but by advertisers themselves
• Yahoo! won’t be able to see the current auction prices for Google ads, just as Google won’t be able to see Yahoo’s prices
• The report mistakenly assumes that Yahoo! will serve Google ads for as many of its search queries as possible. This contradicts Yahoo’s own statements that their plan is to serve Google ads on search results pages where they have few relevant ads to serve.
• The report includes a misplaced focus on cost per click (CPCs) rather than the more important measure for advertisers — return on investment of their advertising dollar.
• the study fails to take into account that fact that Yahoo! shows significantly more ads per page than Google

I’m sure the analysts will be split on whether they agree with Google or not.

But one thing Google is getting wrong is the timing. This week’s fast collapse of companies in the financial market and the mortgage problems that have plagued the U.S. for a year now are only reminders of the great risks associated with companies becoming TOO BIG.

Of course, forging an ad deal with Yahoo is not the same as taking on irresponsible loans, but consumers, Wall Street, and the feds are undoubtedly wary of big promises made by big corporations. And Google has become just that in a short 10 year time frame.

Even without the current mess, antitrust concerns abound. And while Google may have permeated our culture, for some the side effects of such power have been extremely costly.

In a week after a devastating hurricane and financials falling left and right, Google is not exactly demonstrating sensitivity to the current consumer and regulatory climate by supporting their desire to expand their overwhelming majority market share even further.

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