Google, with its fully decked-out media lounge, backstage "Conversation Room" and end-of-the-week epic party, was inarguably the most prominent of the technology companies at the Republican National Convention — a list that also included Facebook and Twitter.
That makes sense – Google and YouTube were the official social network and live stream provider of the convention, a role they're also serving for the Democratic Convention. The company streamed content to hundreds of thousands of viewers and also used the event as a coming of age celebration for Google Hangouts, which were all the rage among media outlets covering the event and the convention organizers.
Twitter and Facebook, meanwhile, played second fiddle. However, they still made quite the impact. The two shared a co-working space — perhaps in an effort to join forces against rival Google — that became a can't-miss destination for reporters and socially-savvy politicians, receiving visits from such prominent politicians as Newt Gingrich and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy.
Facebook and Twitter used their space to show off their latest political innovations, including Facebook and CNN's analytics platform and the Twitter Political Index. Twitter and Facebook employees, meanwhile, mingled with one another and talked shop.
The two companies made their presence known in other ways, too: a Twitter hashtag, #gop2012, was a part of the official campaign logo and the company kept convention-goers up to date with interesting stats. Meanwhile, Facebook sponsored a party to celebrate innovation and another event for developers to demonstrate several cutting edge political apps built using Open Graph.
Despite the technology companies' obvious rivalry for attention and business, their representatives sat together on many panels about social media's impact on politics and were warm towards one another, overall displaying a "we're all in this together" attitude towards sparking social innovation in politics.
"Politicians now have many ways to get their message out there," said Samantha Smith, spokesperson for Google. "We all have the same goal, helping people access that information," she added, in reference to Facebook and Twitter.
When asked if the competition between the social networks at the convention was intense, Andrew Noyes, manager of public policy communications at Facebook, said "I think it's the same synergy you see in our shared workplace [with Twitter]. It's a friendly relationship."
Joel Kaplan, vice president of public policy at Facebook, offered a similar sentiment — but he hinted a bit more at the competition lying beneath the surface.
"We're excited about 2012 as the first truly social election," Joel Kaplan, VP at Facebook, told Mashable. "We're all pulling in the same direction. We're excited about the changes social media is making to politics. Obviously, we think that change should happen on Facebook."
House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) records a Google+ message for U.S. military veterans.
Everyone's giving away free pins, buttons and stickers.
You can watch the whole convention from this Google Politics and Elections screen -- or online at http://www.google.com/elections.
Google's advertising its Four Screens to Victory campaign at the RNC.
Journalists at the RNC don't have to search long for Google coffee -- it's the first result at Google's media center. The coffee is provided by a local shop and is delicious.
Google is a proponent of technology's positive impact on small business and startup growth, and its advertising its efforts in the field at its media center.
Snap some pictures of yourself at this media booth, and it's instantly uploaded to your Google+ profile. And yes, it still prints out an old-school paper photo.
Images credit: Alex Fitzpatrick
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