Eric Schmidt was welcomed to the Tory party conference in Bournemouth yesterday.

Schmidt said he was a fundamental optimist. He explained the basics of the internet and search engines to the assembled blue-rinses.

He banged the drum for open standards and criticised companies which try to "bet against the 'net".

Schmidt said Google was built around "WOW" moments - the time when you Googled a vague search query and found exactly what you wanted. He said it was these moments which drove people to popularise the service.

He told the Tories about why Google needs to be fast. They received a letter from a man who Googled his symptoms which told him he was having a heart attack and should call emergency services immediately. He did and was told he'd have died otherwise.

Schmidt outlined Google's 70 20 10 model. Seventy per cent of time on core activities, 20 per cent on ajacent businesses and 10 per cent on new business. He said this model of creativity was a good way to run a company and may or may not be a good way to run a political party.

He talked about the paradoxes of the internet - truth emerges more quickly but there is more inaccurate information, there's more globablisation but also more tribalism.

He said Google needed to work with governments to create regulations and deal with privacy concerns.

Looking forward five years, Schmidt predicted simultaneous translation and truth prediction - the probability that a statement is true. Schmidt predicted new ways to search - take a picture on your mobile and search with it.

Schmidt said: "The internet can be and I hope will be a revolutionary force in repressive societies driving literacy and expression to new heights and to new prosperity."

The speech is available to Windows Media users here (http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.multimedia.archive.page&filter=VIDEO).

Or you could visit David Cameron's bizarre blog, including video footage of our Dave replying to emails, here (http://www.webcameron.org.uk/).

There's also a rather lovely spoof video on YouTube here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8gLYZV6Z4g). ®

Related stories

Cameron blames Labour naivety for NHS IT woes (4 January 2008)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/04/cameron_googles_nhs/
Google to anonymize user data (15 March 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/15/google_anonymizes_data/
Googling yourself fitter? (10 November 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/10/google_medical_survey/
'Moronic' video deal buys Google legal woes? (10 October 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/10/google_youtube_analysis/
Google swallows YouTube for $1.65bn (9 October 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/09/youtube_content_deals/
Eric Schmidt to address Tory conference (2 October 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/02/tory_speaker/
Laptops grounded for good? Let's head to the Anger bar (11 August 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/11/week_in_review/
Labour fingered for cyber 'dirty tricks campaign' (28 September 2004)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/28/labour_tory_knockabout/