The 2008 Google(tm) Democratic Convention

Google will set up a "Big Tent" – a two-story, 8,000 sq. ft. facilitey -- just for bloggers at the Democratic Convention in August, The Wall Street Journal reports. And, hey, it's non-partisan – they'll do the same at the Republican Convention (although they fail to provide a blog-friendly graphic.) "It's an amazing opportunity for us. You don't get all these people in one place but every four years," says Robert Boorstin, director of corporate and policy communications in Google's Washington office and a former Clinton administration official. Bloggers pay $100 for access to the facility, featuring Google services and software and a public kiosk for uploading video. Republicans say they're "embracing" bloggers. Two hundred bloggers are credentialed, up from a dozen four years ago.

According to Joanna Burgos, a convention spokeswoman, "We recognize it's a whole new world out there with bloggers but we're really embracing it," she said. "It's so many more channels to get our message out."

Ars Technica chimes in that the Google Elections Video Search gadget will use speech recognition software to make the content of political speeches and events text-searchable.