By now around 100,000 beta testers are probably busy playing around with Google’s highly anticipated online communication and sharing venture Google Wave, which Google described as:
… an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.
If you’re not amongst those who were invited to the first wave of Google Wave invites, don’t be sad. Word on the street is that there will be another round of invites to be sent out in the upcoming days.
In the meantime, here is some coverage about Google Wave and why so many are so excited about it.
So What is Google Wave?
Google Wave’s most important element is of course the “wave” which Google describes as conversations or documents that can be shared and transmitted in real-time. By real-time meaning the information is transmitted as you create it. At first glance, think of Wave as a mashup of Google Talk, GMail, Google Talk Video, Google Docs and Google File Sharing … all working together and instantaneously.
Wave is a communication tool using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and practically anything that can be rendered online. And since it is shared, other Google Wave users within your network can reply to your message, edit your content and add other wave users into your wave. Google Wave will be faster than email.
Google Wave will be better than email.
CNet’s Rafe Needleman on the Google Wave :
So What Technologies are Involved in Google Wave
Google Wave involves real-time collaboration, natural language tools, APIs and more. Google Wave will let you see real-time updates and by real-time updates it means seeing other people’s updates character by character as they type them.
Google Wave also allows contextual suggestion and natural language spelling correction. Even better is the fact that you can embed a “wave” onto other sites through the use of Google’s APIs and widgets technology. Thus, Wave expands Google’s suite of publishing tools beyond AdSense and YouTube … almost anything is embeddable.
That’s all? Actually there are other technological concepts involved. These include – wiki, drag-and-drop, playback, open source and more.
The Google Wave Gadgets
If you’re familiar with the usual Google gadgets, the Google Wave gadgets are something similar. Google Wave gadgets are small adds-on and plug-ins that improve waves within Google Wave containers. Google Wave gadgets live inside a Google Wave and interact with other Google Waves.
Specifically Google Wave Gadgets can:
- >Access more granular state management
- Find out the current viewer and all of the other participants on the wave
- Work harmoniously with the Wave playback mechanism
And Google Wave is not restricted to the PC pr Netbook either. Here is a glimpse of the Google Wave for the iPhone :
Some Google Wave Questions and Possible Answers
Is Google Wave a Game Changer? Can Google Wave establish the standard for real-time online collaboration and content generation and sharing?
Could be yes or could be no. It depends on how good it will and how much users will actually use it in their daily online activities. 100,000 users is a relatively small Beta test for something that could ultimately replace GMail. And given GMail’s recent outages and issues, it could take a long time to roll out this Wave.
What does Google Wave mean for my business?
Where I see most of its usefulness is for Google Apps users. The ability of real time secured business collaboration using Google Wave should save a lot of time and money. Seamless file transfers across the globe without having to wait for servers could revolutionize business communications as we know it. Let’s face it, Google Docs is nice, but it’s slow. Plus, Google Talk is useful, but its Video and other cool capabilities are all housed within the GMail interface and not the Desktop. For business communications, Google Wave is a Game Changer.
Google Wave Invites?
Unfortunately, Google forgot to send us despite registering since the day Google Wave was announced (doh!). We’re waiting for our invite. But until then, here are some others’ thoughts on the Google Wave :
And Google Wave is not restricted to the PC pr Netbook either. Here is a glimpse of the Google Wave for the iPhone :
Do you have your Google Wave invite? If so, please let SEJ readers know your thoughts on Google Wave.
