Google Excels

Today's news is that Google is introducing a web-based spreadsheet. While there are lots of comments about this around, I liked Paul Kedrosky's slightly irreverent take on it:

You know, this sort of thing from Google is beginning to bug me. Google reminds of an over-eager puppy: Just happily waving its tail around, and then sh***-ing in markets. It did it with Google Analytics, and now it's doing it with Google Spreadsheet. Where Microsoft used to ruin markets by taking all the revenues to itself, Google takes a nuclear winter approach wherein it ruins markets by freezing them and then cutting revenues to zero.

But how seriously are real users supposed to take this stuff? Google could cut off any of these playtoys anytime, doubly so if they ever whiff on a quarter and investors force them to focus on things that generate revenue. Damned if you commit to one of these services, and damned if you don't.

Tags: Google, Microsoft