From the Editor
Mike Hofman

Obama Speaks at Google

 

Various presidential candidates have been making the pilgrimage to Mountain View to speak at the offices of Google. It's good PR, not to mention access to a room full of millionaires. Hillary has made the rounds. So have McCain, Edwards, Richardson, Ron Paul, and Mike Gravel.

Last Thursday, it was Barack Obama's turn to visit, as reported on Google's public policy blog. Andrew McLaughlin, a director who handles government and public affairs at Google, writes that "Obama laid out a detailed package of technology policies designed to strengthen online privacy, increase government openness and transparency, put high-speed broadband within reach of all Americans, improve the delivery government services, drive America's competitiveness, reform our abuse-prone patent system, and free up wireless spectrum for new connectivity and public safety."

The Illinois senator also showed a deft political touch. When he was asked whether he lacked the experience required to assume the duties of the Oval Office, he responded: "Larry and Sergey didn't have a lot of experience starting a Fortune 100 company."

Mike Hofman was previously editor of Inc.com and a deputy editor at Inc. magazine, which he joined in 1996. The site was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media in 2010, and was named the best business website by Folio Magazine. In 2006, Hofman was part of a team of writers nominated for a Webby Award for best business blog. He lives in New York City. @mikehofman