Google CEO Eric Schmidt speaks in Sydney

My colleagues at the AFR were on hand when Eric Schmidt dropped into Sydney today for a quick visit – watch the video here. There were a bunch of minor announcements which the SMH reported here. And you can read new AFR IT Editor Ben Woodhead’s report on misaustralia.com.

My favourite quote: “The brand is in very good shape, and it’s wonderful, especially given the company is run by engineers.”

Another observation: I think Google stole a leaf from Apple’s “how to surprise the media and spark lots of coverage” PR book this time. We media types were issued with an invitation to come to a Google press event today.The only clue that it was a potentially significant event (at least from a special guest perspective) was the location – they’d rented space at the Sydney Opera House.