Google.org

Is the State Department's Tweeter-in-Chief Headed to Google?

Kara Swisher in News on July 23, 2010 at 8:54 am PT

Jared Cohen, who has gained fame as the State Department’s social networking phenom and the youngest member of its policy planning staff, is considering taking a job at Google in a strategic policy role, said several sources close to the situation. Cohen has been in discussions with Google recently about going there, those sources said, although it is not a done deal. In other words, the revolving door between D.C. and Silicon Valley keeps on turning, especially Googlers.

David Geffen Wants a Chunk of the New York Times. But What Does Google Want?

Peter Kafka in Media on May 11, 2009 at 5:03 pm PT

David Geffen, who had previously tried to buy the Los Angeles Times, has been trying to buy a chunk of the New York Times. It’s not clear why. Also unclear: Why Google would have “looked seriously” at the opportunity to buy the Times in the last few weeks, as Fortune says it has.

Voices

Tracking Swine Flu on Google, Twitter

Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on April 28, 2009 at 6:00 am PT

In the wake of the outbreak of swine flu, a debate is emerging as to whether social-networking sites and technology are just creating panic rather than helping the populace stay informed. On Twitter, the terms “swine flu,” “#swineflu,” “CDC” and “Mexico” were among the top phrases used on the social messaging service on Monday, after the U.S. declared a public health emergency.

Voices

Moot, 4chan Founder, Takes Time 100 Poll

Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on April 27, 2009 at 10:41 am PT

The twentysomething founder of 4chan.org won Time’s title of “World’s Most Influential Person” despite accusations that the meme site’s fans hacked the online poll. The founder, Christopher Poole, also known as “moot,” received 16.8 million votes.

A New Location for an Iconic Conference–and Here Come the TED Fellows

Kara Swisher in News on February 2, 2009 at 6:00 am PT

The well-known Technology, Entertainment, Design conference–better known to its techie fans as TED–will make its move from Monterey to Long Beach starting tomorrow night and will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. TED2009 is called “The Great Unveiling,” with its eclectic speaker roster including: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, neurological anthropologist Oliver Sacks, writer Elizabeth Gilbert, tree researcher Nalani Nadkarni and Web political phenom Nate Silver. But I am perhaps even more intrigued by the introduction this year of the TED Fellows program, whose participants have been picked because of the “world-changing potential of their work.”

Web 2.0 Conference This Week–Lance Armstrong, Al Gore, Jerry Yang, Mark Zuckerberg…and Lionel Richie?

Kara Swisher in News on November 3, 2008 at 8:00 am PT

On Wednesday, the annual Web 2.0 Summit kicks off in San Francisco. The lineup is particularly good this year and it is also a perfect time to take the temperature of the Internet’s movers and shakers, given all the hubbub of late with the weak economy. Speakers will include bicycle champ Lance Armstrong, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, former VP Al Gore, Google.org head Larry Brilliant, Paul Otellini of Intel and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, among others. But, best of all for BoomTown, singer Lionel Richie will be performing at a MySpace Music party.

Google: Beyond Thunderdome

John Paczkowski in News on October 3, 2008 at 12:00 am PT

You can make money without doing evil. You can also make it without using so much fossil fuel. That’s the word from Google, which today unveiled a $4.4 trillion plan it says will reduce the nation’s dependence on coal and oil. Google’s “Clean Energy 2030” plan proposes to wean the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030 by relying on power from wind, nuclear and geothermal sources instead.