Google Wave. Tidal Wave or Wading Pool?
October 29, 2009 by redsneaker
Filed under Web Stuff
I got an invite to Google Wave, Google’s latest personal communication and collaboration tool, the second day invites were sent. Having enjoyed many of Google’s other bounty like Google Voice, iGoogle, and Google Latitude, I was excited to see what Google was up to.
I launched Wave and prepared for the shock and awe. I was neither shocked nor awed. I saw a mix of instant messaging and e-mails. It reminded me of my initial impression of Twitter. I saw it, wasn’t excited and didn’t come back to it for a couple months. So right now, I am in that period where I still don’t get it!
Luckily, developers around the world are working with the Google Wave API and according to a recent Business Week article by Lars Resmussen which stated We’ll almost certainly build a storeSo many developers have asked us to build a marketplace¢â‚¬â€and we might do a revenue-sharing arrangement. Resmussen is the Google Engineer behind Wave.
So it appears, Google is following the iPhone model which is so successful for Apple by selling $200 million in applications every month. This could blow the doors wide open for Google Wave users and dramatically increase the functionality of the tool and make some visionary application developers a little pocket cash. This application is also not tied to a device like the iPhone app store, so the growth of the app store and marketplace could exceed Apple. But there are no published details on anything just yet.
Applications that would excite me for Google Wave would be:
- Google Maps integration to see where everyone is or to be able to collaborate on a map with the other users. Imagine working with someone on a trip using the same map and having the dialog simultaneously?
- Google Voice integration so if you start a wave, you could include the message to be sent to someone’s phone number as a voicemail.
- Facebook, Twitter and Gmail integration to be able to communicate with people I am already connected to via Google Wave. That could be one of the most powerful additions.
- Video. Not just the ability to share web cam streams with each other for video conferences, but to be able to show a YouTube slip or other video and all watch and comment simultaneously.
Unfortunately, I am still unamazed and still in limbo. Hopefully, like Twitter, I will see the light and become a devout user who can see the potential and have the application change my life. Hopefully.
Stumble It!
Jay Feitlinger on Fri, 30th Oct 2009 9:19 am
I couldn’t agree more (great review). I have about 30 people I connect with on Google Wave for business. When we first started wave’s it was pretty cool but unfortunately many people I want to connect with are not on Wave yet.
When Wave goes officially live AND there is some kind of notification that I was either invited to a Wave or a Wave I am with was updated (via email, desktop widget pop, SMS, etc.) it will be used more often. If neither of those 2 items are launched Google Wave won’t become what Twitter is.
If you are on Google Wave DM me through Twitter and I will share my Google Wave id so we can connect. Just can’t promise you I will be active until at least notifications is launched.
Karl Sumwalt on Wed, 4th Nov 2009 7:39 am
Maybe I just think different than the masses. To me, Google Wave is not about e-mail or instant messaging. I see it as a collaboration tool for a given document. Put a team of people on Google Wave to create a report. They are editing the same document, real time, and all at one time. Once finished, there is no need to merge multiple documents THEN check for consistent formatting, etc. Someone can be watching formatting and editing while the work is in progress.
Perhaps the problem is in the processes the current invitees have to do their job. For the company I work for, Google Wave will be BIG. But not as a messaging tool.
Google Terminator on Sun, 15th Nov 2009 5:01 pm
I was so excited to finally get an invite to Google Wave the other day but my excitement also quickly turned to disappointment when I got there and found nobody to collaborate with. I of course got the standard 8 invites but that isn’t many if you are going to end up with a whole team of people you need to collaborate with. Also, I just couldn’t find that big of a use for it that I couldn’t already do with email and chat. I know it is supposed to be real time collaboration but I just really don’t see any use for it yet. Hopefully Google will come out with some new features in the near future.