After the initial Google Spreadsheet announcement, blogs are buzzing with some of the biggest voices bashing Google, some defending them, and others just questioning their intent.
The complaints seem to range from Google getting distracted from their core mission to just putting out incomplete or bad products.
I disagree with both ideas. First, their core mission has been organizing information and allowing people to find it, and the tools they’ve been building and releasing all do have to do with organizing and working with information. And, at this point their core revenue model is advertising from Adwords ads showing up in search results and in Adsense. The main dangers to that revenue model are someone making it obsolete in some way, or Google losing search volume and losing Adsense publishers. Creating these free tools people use keeps people involved in the Google brand, thus making searchers more likely to use Google Search, advertisers more likely to think of advertising with Google, and publishers more likely to work with Adsense.
As to whether the products are revolutionary enough doesn’t matter that much. Google Spreadsheet isn’t revolutionary, and it’s not better than Excel. However, it’s good enough for a lot of Excel users, it’s free, and it’s on the web meaning users don’t need to fumble around with if it’s installed or not.
Here’s a way I like to think about web product development. When my 4 year-old daughter needs a spreadsheet application to start doing her first school projects or financial work on it, which is she more likely to use? Pay $269 for Office to get Excel? Or use a free and simple web-based application like Google Spreadsheet? I know which way I’ll be pointing her when that time comes.
That’s the thing, Google has time. The product doesn’t need to be perfect now, they’ve got the size and momentum that they’ll get users simply on their name and their Google-like ability to make things pretty darn easy to use. Will they be the best spreadsheet application in 8 years when my daughter needs it? I have no idea, but they should probably be trying.
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Fantastic reference to the four-year old daughter situation. I think that statement alone defines why this spreadsheet is revolutionary. The product itself is not revolutionary, but fits into a larger scope of ides/products that are and will be changing the way things are done.
Thanks Aneil, I’m not sure why people take such short term views. Obviously Google Spreadsheet is not better than Excel, and it’d be hard for a web-based product to be better at this point in the web’s development.
But, the web is to the point where that spreadsheet is good enough so that there will be no need for the kids of today to ever use a desktop-app spreadsheet product, unless they are doing some seriously crazy financial analysis.
Spreadsheet has come to reach of all internet users. So, this means, users need not shell dollars for the 20% features what most users stick to. Online spreadsheets , in one way might become very useful.
Take a look at the online spreadsheet app. http://zohosheet.com
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Great point and one straight out of the Microsoft playbook…and that has been one of Redmond’s core strengths…think initial versions of MS Windows, Excel, etc…all basically functional but not even close to optional.
But over the last 20+ years MS consistently took the long view and their bank balance is proof of concept that the prize doesn’t necessarily go to the one who comes out with the best, first.