Currency and Volume

One of Google's latest announcements raises an interesting question about their brand.

They announced this morning that they will now offer real-time stock quotes on Google Finance.

Great news for anybody who follows the markets but doesn't want to log-in or subscribe to a brokerage service, etc. They aren't the first and only to offer this, of course; but being Google means that they'll probably soon be the widest-reaching provider to offer this.

Which raises the question:
What's more valuable about Google - the currency or the volume of the information they provide?

(Currency obviously meaning"how current is it", not "how much does it cost")

The easy answer is "It's the combination that really matters. Lots of info, available right now, that's accurate as of a nanosecond ago."

I doubt they could choose between the two even if they have to. Given the choice, should they add more and more data sources to their services, or do they make their current data more timely?

Since timeliness is really just one aspect of "quality" or accuracy of information, it's not really a question of choosing between currency and volume, of course. But I'm looking forward to seeing how much Google continues along the "real time" path, to see how it impacts their brand. They're already known as the company that provides easy access to just about any information in the world... Maybe they'll evolve into the company that provides easy access to the current state of the world.

My bet (hope) is that Google Maps and Google Earth are next in line to see more frequent updating (beyond specific services/mash-ups like tracking cabs in NYC).