Google CEO Backs Barack

We are entering the last three weeks of the US presidential election and previous public figure fence sitters are starting to declare support to one of the two candidates. While the mechanizations of American politics might seem a world away from search engine marketing, the decision made by American citizens on November 4th will have long-term effects on the evolution of the Internet and the search marketing space.

Earlier today, Google CEO Eric Schmidt stated he will campaign on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to the Wall St. Journal, Mr. Schmidt has been an unofficial advisor to the Obama campaign and might be asked to join an Obama cabinet as Chief Technology Officer. In an interview with the Wall St. Journal, Mr. Scmhidt was quoted saying, “I’m doing this personally. Google is officially neutral.”

Eric Schmidt is not the only well known tech name being considered for a cabinet position in an Obama White House. According to BusinessWeek.com, Vint Cerf (VP – Google), Steve Ballmer (CEO – Microsoft), Jeff Bezos (CEO – Amazon) and Ed Felten (Prof., Princton University) are also in the running to be CTO to the ultimate chief executive.

One of the major differentiators between the Republican and Democratic campaigns is the attention to technology given by the Obama camp. During the campaign, the Obama camp has used the Internet far more effectively than the McCain ticket in every respect except (somewhat ironically) in the strategic deployment of Google AdWords. Most search marketers tend to agree the McCain ticket has used AdWords with greater impact.

The Democrats have also made a commitment to honouring and enhancing Net Neutrality traditions saying that allowing ISPs to charge different rates for differing levels of service would be discriminatory and would serve to stifle innovation and evolution. As a United States Senator, Mr. Obama has long supported Net Neutrality provisions while Mr. McCain has said such regulation should be left to the free market.

Eric Schmidt makes his first official campaign appearance tomorrow in Florida where he and Mr. Obama will moderate a discussion about the economy. Until now, Mr. Schmidt has acted as an unofficial Obama adviser on technology and energy issues.