Google after the bell for 6-7-06: Spreadsheet feedback and "going evil" a little

With Google Spreadsheet gaining some massive attention across the web, Google yesterday had a semi-meteoric rise. So it's not surprising the shares would slip today, but they did hold onto most of yesterday's gains. 

Google shares closed at $386.51, a drop of $3.48 or 0.89%. While Google Spreadsheet has only been seen in full-force by a handful of early invitees, the scuttlebutt on the street is that this is not a competitor to Microsoft's Excel. I partially agree, but it may be too early to tell. This is launch time, and Google just said recently that it likes to launch products early and often and then tweak them later (and monetize them as well).

So, in addition to the Spreadsheet launch, Google co-founder Sergey Brin's comment that Google "may have done evil" in its relations with China is causing some wide opinions in the world as well today. Will Google stay the course in China and still be able to claim that it "does no evil"? This will be a tough one for the Google folks, as China's Internet-using population is going nowhere but up. And, isn't there over a billion people in China? I thought so -- and many are potential future web search users.

With Google being part of the forefront of Web 2.0, it may have many good things in store for the future in my opinion. It's becoming harder and harder to pin Google down to being a competitor to any one industry, as its mantra of making all the world's information easily accessible to anyone pits it against old and new industries the world over. If you think Google is an innovator, should you hold shares if you don't already? You make that call.