Written by Jessica Ardrey
Since its announcement in May, Google Wave has stirred up a lot of excitement in the technological sphere. The corporation’s newest baby, Google Wave, is an online real-time communication and collaboration tool.
Wave is the brainchild of Sydney Google office technician Jens Rasmussen. Along with his brother Lars, Rasmussen began mapping out his ideas for Google Wave in early 2003.
Wave was put on the back burner while the brothers began building what eventually became Google Maps. Wave was eventually brought back into focus in 2007 and launched this September.
The hype surrounding Google Wave had people scrambling for a way into the invitation-only platform. Praise that the product was the latest and greatest fostered claims that Wave would profoundly change the way we communicate online, and eventually do away with classic e-mail altogether.
“Anything that Google comes out with seems to create a lot of hype,” Harding student Travis Bond said. “Gmail, the Android phone, Google Talk, Google Voice … It’s just a huge company with a lot of influence behind its name.”
So what is Google Wave, and why is everyone making such a big deal about it?
In its most basic form, it is a combination of e-mail and instant messaging, but with more functionality. Wave takes the best features of each and combines them into a single setting. It has components like the ability to drag and drop photos from your desktop into the conversation.
As the name implies, the program works in waves. Google defines them in three statements, the first describing a wave as “equal parts conversation and document.”
Each wave allows text, videos, photos, maps and other accessories. A wave is also shared between participants, who can comment and reply anywhere in the message or even edit it in real-time, almost like a live Wiki.
The last characteristic is that a wave is live. A user can see what another user is typing as he or she types it, allowing faster and more realistic communication.
After a few weeks, Bond approves of the platform. “Its best aspect is the user’s ability to see real-time conversation and typing,” Bond said.
In addition to real-time traits, Wave also has an array of downloadable applications called “gadgets.” These extensions range from games of chess and weather programs to gadgets made specifically for business waves.
“Robots” are another new feature. Robots act as contacts and, when added to a wave, perform certain tasks.
The Twitter robot, named Tweety, allows the user to update his or her Twitter account. Rosetta Stone also has its own robot, aptly named Rosy Etta.
When added to a wave, Rosy will translate the text from whatever language the first user speaks into whatever language the second user speaks, and Rosy does on its own and in real-time.
However, in its beta version, Wave still has some glitches as well as some hurdles to overcome.
One problem is that not everybody has a Google account. Where e-mail allows messaging no matter where the account is held, Wave is for Google users only.
Other obstacles include a lack of an obvious spotlight pointing out who made which changes. In multiple-user waves, new messages (called “blips”) directed toward a specific user also lack emphasis.
Despite its shortcomings, on which developers are still working, most of Google Wave’s reviews are very positive. The one thing that is necessary for Wave to succeed is people.
“The only thing that makes Google Wave awesome is the community, and without a lot of people, you just sit at a blank screen,” Bond said.
Whether the majority of e-mail users will switch to Wave is still up in the air. In the past, Google has introduced some platforms that appear in a blaze of glory, but quietly die out.
For now, however, its outlook is nothing less than enthusiastic, so for Google’s sake, let’s hope this Wave isn’t washed up.
