Nearly every site I visit this morning is discussing Google with disdain, and not even for good reasons. Michael Arrington vents about Google adding seamlessly useless features to Picasa and how commenters who drink the Google juice are just kowtowing Yes Men:
“Google-love is getting out of hand. In fact, Google is getting out of hand.”
Yesterday Google Spreadsheets launched and Mike had the scoop. Looks like a pretty cool product, but what it doesn’t look like is something to beat Excel, so why are people positioning it like that? Do bloggers truly think Google is dumb enough to launch Spreadsheets and say, “Okay Bill, eat your heart out because Excel’s going under!!!”, no of course not. Google Spreadsheets is not meant to beat Excel, just like the Writely acquisition wasn’t made to convert everybody from Word to Google “Processor” or whatever they name it.
Jason has some thoughts on the issue, and basically agrees with me to the extent that these new Google Labs offerings aren’t what people are making them out to be, which are “Microsoft Killers.” Jason thinks that Google is doing a head fake to get Microsoft to trip over their ankles, while Google comes in with New Product X and does a 360 dunk in their face. I don’t really know what Google is up to, but I can assure you it has something to do with making money. Think about it: these new Google Labs offerings are there to get people to engage more deeply in the brand of Google, to use the search even more, to publish sites with more AdSense ad blocks, and to generally do everything that makes Google a for-profit company.
Apple sells music via the iTunes Music Store, why? Um, not because they make boatloads of money on music, quite the contrary. They sell iTunes music because it sells more iPods which is what makes Apple money. Apple does one thing, which brings users into the Apple brand, and then these new users turn around and hand money over to Apple. Google releases these little web-based applications, which bring users over to Google’s playing field, and then these new users turn around and use search and AdSense which is in effect handing money over to Google.
Why are people not seeing this? Oh, because they’re not laying it out in 100 pt. font in a press release stating it, which “analysts” can then “interpret” and regurgitate on their blogs. Why does everything have to be black and white? Just because Microsoft considers Google a competitor doesn’t mean that Google feels that way. Let’s look between the lines a little bit more: just because Google isn’t laying any cards down doesn’t mean that Gin isn’t coming next hand.
About Mike Rundle
Why do they call it MS killers, because Bill Gates’ ultimate dream is to develop a platform with online software. In that new MS era no one will install software on his desktop anymore, but the whole platform will be used remotedly. No needs anymore to buy an Office package either, instead a yearly subscription will be paid for chosen package.
Are the Google products concurrence? Surely not, MS would never want to bring out those low feature products but rather something like Office 14, but they surely are a serious slap in the face of the Windows Live platform, plans. After hotmail first was outbeaten in storage space by several other email platforms, MS has never been able to catch up with the speed of releases from other companies anymore.
As for the user. The experienced Excel user, knowing his shortcuts will not use Google Spreadsheets right atm, because he’ll already have sent out/emailed all his .csv files when he’s still struggling with the horrible Spreadsheets. But this surely hurts MS and Windows Live. And Google grabs the big bucks right atm. Also Google’s timing, only some months before Office 12 Final is perfect. Will the user upgrade?
Mike,
I couldn’t agree more. I love how people are so simple-minded as to think Google is going directly for the MS Office suite as if they didn’t have anything better to do.
People need to stop being so linear in their thinking and try to understand the bigger scope of things when they see moves like what Google just made.
Dude, what are you a 90 year old woman!? Gin is coming next hand… *wow*
Seriously though, you are right on target Rundeezy, I have been saying this for awhile; that and Google is creating an alternate internet with all that dark fiber they have been buying up…
Building off of what Aneil said I think it’s slightly disturbing to see that the Tech Crunch knows this and purposely publishes things like this just to get a rise out of people. Am I wrong?
Michael, don’t be so sure that Arrington sees things from our point of view — he may still be trying to figure it out, even though the answer are right there in between the lines :)
Little known fact: Mike *is* a 90-year-old woman.
(Or at least bowls like one…zing!)
Agreed. I don’t think Arrington is baiting us on purpose, although he was very successful in doing so.
The interesting/disturbing thing to me was how may people are drinking the koolade. Google is not a company that operates in an obvious manner and that’s part of the reason they are so successful. Some of the most successful companies these days (Apple being a great example) astonish and surpise us and sometimes we get a glimpse into the bigger picture which brings it all together. Of course, you can only see the bigger picture if you have the eyes for it.
Oh how sad. So even he doesn’t see it? Would that make Arrington the Nancy Grace of the blogosphere?
people forget that Microsoft in a sense makes windows so people will buy Office and other end products (Office is going to cost $700 next time!!!!). The web is the attention platform, and they are all vying for control over it.
The more you use Google.com, the more it becomes the web for you and your 90 year old mother.
Let’s not forget Arrington had lunch with Bill Gates, not the Google Boys.
Google has managed to leverage itself into many markets that newcomers had “no hope” in, and generally caused improvement and innovation in each.