14 DAY TRIAL // Google, as most other tech companies, do their best to stay out of politics. Well, they do their best to stay out of the public debate, but they do spend millions on lobbying in Washington to make sure their interests are promoted and protected.
Companies may take a stand on issues such as SOPA or PIPA, but they won't be getting involved with something as messy as the presidential election, which is getting underway in the US.
Therefore, the fact that Google cofounder Sergey Brin weighed in on a political issue on the eve of the elections is pretty big. Brin managed to keep anything specific out of his message though.
"I must confess, I am dreading today's elections. Not because of who might win or lose. Not because as a Californian, my vote for President will count 1/3 as much as an Alaskan (actually it won't matter at all -- I'm not in a swing state)," he started out, pointing out some of the problems with the US' voting system.
"Not because my vote for Senate will count 1/50 as much as an Alaskan," he wrote on Google+.
He's not endorsing or criticizing any of the candidates, instead he's criticizing the political system as a whole.
In the US, politics is split into two sides, the Republicans and the Democrats, and most of their time and energy is spent fighting each other rather than trying to implement their policies.
"But because no matter what the outcome, our government will still be a giant bonfire of partisanship," he explained.
"It is ironic since whenever I have met with our elected officials they are invariably thoughtful, well-meaning people. And yet collectively 90% of their effort seems to be focused on how to stick it to the other party," he said.
"So my plea to the victors -- whoever they might be: please withdraw from your respective parties and govern as independents in name and in spirit. It is probably the biggest contribution you can make to the country," he concluded.
His message is simple, leave the party politics at the door and just do what's best for the country. It's a message that plenty of Americans disillusioned with the whole process share. But it's a message that will be ignored as politics today is basically show business, the candidate with the catchiest phrases, the funniest ads and the most charm wins.