Ok, so after weeks of begging, pleading, and potentially scamming the good people (or mind-controlling, all seeing, information privateers, depending on how you look at it) over at Google labs for a coveted Google Wave invite I stumbled upon one from a friend’s classified ad like AIM status announcing he had invites to spare. I jumped on the opportunity. Thus far, like everything good and Google, Google wave has been an utterly fantastic disappointment. Here’s why…
First off, what good is a social networking tool if it doesn’t allow you to integrate your social network? I get it Google, you did it with Gmail, you did it with Docs, we all know you like to Beta test your stuff for an unreasonably long time, hell some people have even asked you to put that warm cozy ‘Beta’ back on Gmail for looks. One of these days though people are going to stop getting all giddy about your apps just to be let down like a kid who put out cookies for Santa and saw his dad eat them. (My ambivalence toward Google, I’m sure, will rear its ugly head even more throughout this post, bear with me for there is a reason. ) If Google really wants to make the Wave function and feel fluid like a, well, wave of conversation and information it needs to fluidly integrate with Outlook, Thunderbird, Facebook, Twitter, basically the works (starting to get the theme here?). And while I’ll, for the time being considering the ‘preview’ status of Wave, give it the benefit of the doubt, I really don’t know if Google was considering going in this direction. Granted, no one is really riding the Wave yet, so we will continue to watch it, but that’s ok for I have a dream of a perfectly integrated Social Media Life in which the Wave will replace my AIM conversations, casual chit-chat e-mails, Google talk conversations, and Gchat pings. Now I know why he was trying to get rid of those invites… The potential however, which excites and frustrates me, is endless. I’d also like to be able to ride the Wave endlessly for work collaborations.
Which brings me to my next point, I know this will pain the Church of Steve Jobs’ follower’s ears, but Google Wave could learn a lot from Microsoft One Note. Take for instance the “Windows Key” + S feature to take nifty screen shots and throw them in a note. I’d like to see Google integrate this feature to let people collaborating for work purposes quickly take a screen shot of whatever they’re looking at and drag/drop it into the Wave and have it show up in (relative) real-time. I couldn’t think of a better way to collaborate with people through the interweb than a utility which shows you what I’m seeing. Secondly, as I understood (or maybe hoped to understand it) the Wave was supposed to be easy to share video, links, and media in, once again, (relative) real-time over the internet but the drag/drop functionality is nearly non-existent. The ‘gadgets’ function will be pretty great though when they add some more functionality and, well, more ‘gadgets’ to put in that toolbox. Another thing it could learn from One Note is audio clipping. I’d love to be able to have a small box which attaches to the control panel that would bring up a small Note like box which gave me the choice to just write a quick note without reaching for my browser and have that Note functionality of voice recording an instant note there as well. Basically, add some Google desktop functionality and plug in quick access to audio clipping, adding YouTube content, map gadget, calendar gadget etc. and you’ve got a quick way to send media and message through a constantly connected source with all of your most important people in the loop.
The kicker again, is having the people though. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that once Wave reaches the masses this thing will be huge, like Monsoon Wave huge, like Gmail-take-over-the-email-game huge. Google has the potential to hit everyone from grandparents keeping in touch with their grandchildren and parents trying to get a life update on their first-year college kid to power-user team project types in fast paced start-up style companies in the office who need a way to collaborate seamlessly, endlessly, and most importantly easily with the guy in the office upstairs or the guy still trying to AIM chat with you, forward you a project idea/document which was e-mailed to him, and update you on his life with twitter all at the same time. Let’s get some people to start riding the Wave, not watch it Google, and show people why no one should need 4 different social media tools to stay in touch, ever.
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