“Web giant teaches candidates of all stripes how to campaign online.”

 –  article from the LA Times, March 2007:

As the 2008 presidential campaign gets rolling, Google Inc. wants to be every candidate’s running mate. That was clear early one morning this month, when about 80 bleary-eyed political and advocacy group consultants crowded into a college lecture hall here and listened intently to campaign tips from an unlikely source: three guys from Google.

Google plays for the long term and they’re smart to be there,” said Phil Noble, founder of PoliticsOnline, a site that provides Internet tools and strategies for campaigns. “The Internet and politics is a revolution, and Google and these guys are not going to lead the revolution, but they don’t want to get shot in the back either.”

The amount spent on all political races in 2004 — about $4 billion — is expected to more than double in 2008. And just as many major companies are doing, political campaigns are expected to shift more of their ad dollars to the Web.Google wants to be ready when that happens.  full article…