Earlier this week I got a Google Wave invite from my friend and 4 Sport Boston co-host Craig. When I got the invite I told him I already had Google Wave- I was sent an invite back in September when it launched. Earlier this fall there was a lot of buzz around Google Wave, Google has slowly integrated themselves into our lives where they are more than web searches. People now use Google to send e-mail, create spreadsheets, and chat with family and friends. Word of a new Google product that was going to change the way we thought of e-mail created excitement. When Google slowly invited people to try Google Wave, invitations became VIP passes or Golden Tickets that everybody sought after. Not even the Salahis were going to crash this party without an invitation.
Now it’s been a few months and I recently got a wave from Google offering me 16 invites to give out to others…if anybody actually wants any now. As Google slowly let more and more people into the Google Wave party, they quickly came in and soon found their way out. I talked to others that have Google Wave and like me they got their invite earlier this year, fiddled around, and dismissed it as a novelty- a demonstration of the future.
Does this mean Google Wave is a flop?
I poked around the interweb and found that I wasn’t the only one who thought Google Wave won’t be the next best thing since AOL Instant Messenger. The folks over at Bit Rebel think that Google Wave has failed to impress. So why then is Google Wave struggling to find dedicated users? Perhaps part of the problem is that Google Wave is suffering for an identity crisis. It is clear that Google Wave is an amazing demonstration of technology and will rethink the way we communicate, but users are struggling to really hone in on what Google Wave is, how to use it, and what sort of applications you can use it for.
Rather than telling you to watch the 80 minute Google Wave developer presentation, I will instead recommend that you watch the video epipheo produced:
As an e-mail tool Google Wave would truly become E-mail 2.0 but the problem in identifying it as an e-mail tool is that it is not standardized. Right now you can only communicate with others that also have Google Wave. When G-mail came out it worked with standard e-mail protocols and standards, and simply became a great service to use for your e-mail. The level of sophistication Google Wave brings to e-mail calls for a mass adaptation that would take a long time to happen. TechnoBuffalo wrote a post earlier this week that says Google Wave will struggle to gain mass adoption as an e-mail tool.
Until Google Wave is adopted by an overwhelming majority of consumers, the best way to think of Google Wave is a collaboration tool. In October Lifehacker asked people how they were going to best use Google Wave and they found a wide range of uses- all centered around the idea of streamlining group communication over the web. I think for now the new technology Google Wave offers is limited by its small user base, and for small projects it will change the way people contribute to group projects.
I would also like to say it makes for a very entertaining animation tool as well:
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