This week, several Know More Media writers responded to the launch of Google Finance, a new financial news and information source that compares to a similar offering by Web giant Yahoo!.

Here's what KMMers have to say about GFinance:

At WebMetricsGuru, Marshall Sponder picks up the scoop from John Battelle that Google Finance had launched and expresses his own thoughts about the significance of the new offering.

At TheAlphaMarketer, Gary Bourgeault recommends that online business owners apply Google's example of offering "several types of products or services to hedge against things possibly slowing down in one area, so that a growth area can keep your business growing."  Don't put all them eggs in one basket, even if your basket is Google-sized.

At Gearater, Colbert Low gives a good overview of Google's new offering and its main benefits.

At TheBizOfCoding, Ujwal Tickoo compares Google Finance to Yahoo!'s financial news site and ponders possible directions Google may take with GFinance.

At MidMarketMaven, Devin Thorpe reviews the pros and cons of Google Finance.

And at Business Blog Wire, I complimented Google for displaying blog posts in its Finance company information pages, but decried the relegation of company-related blog news to the bottom of the page, separate from mainstream news sources.

Overall, we at Know More Media have mixed feelings about Google Finance.  On the one hand, we love its simplicity, speed and Web 2.0-iness.  On the other, we don't like its lack of originality and customizability.  It's still in beta (like many other Google services), so it will definitely be important to keep an eye on Google Finance.

What do you think about Google Finance?