Google Wave Aims to be the Next Unifying Platform

Tuesday, 10. 6. 2009  –  Category: T2 Communications

This week, Google Wave is being released in beta testing to 100,000 users.  Originally unveiled at a developer conference earlier this year,  Google is taking the foundations of e-mail and adding to it critical elements of instant messaging, social networking and file sharing.  Google touts it as e-mail as if it was created today.

And while there continues to be bugs that need to be worked out, this large scale test is a final step toward the release of a new, major communication tool.  Much like Twitter, SMS, IM and Twitter, Google Wave stands to change the way we interact.  How will this new experience enhance how we communicate in more socially conscious environment?  More importantly, how does it benefit the end user versus other communication tools out there?

Google has a laundry list of benefits it sees in the Wave design, including its ability to build into existing platforms.  Many companies, even in Wave’s beta level, are already taking steps to incorporate its functionality.  Salesforce.com is one of many companies already touting their integration with Wave.

The demand for the Wave beta test invitations has been very high.  Ultimately, however, Google needs to draw businesses and end users in to make it successful.  To do so, Google will need to tout four main areas of differentiation.

Collaboration
Perhaps the biggest draw of Google Wave is the collaborative environment it creates.  Instead of having an e-mail system that functions in a call and response fashion, Wave allows people to chime in more like a social networking platform.  Responses can come in at any time (and at any spot), files can be added and sidebar conversations can be created.  You can even add people into the conversation as you go.  All of this perpetuates the sharing of ideas amongst your group.

Singular Conversations
Collaboration can be strained when conversations are all over the place.  With Wave, instead of having bits and pieces of information being strung out over multiple platforms or e-mails, everything shows up in a single thread.  This allows communication topics to be more on a project level rather than task oriented.  All ideas are filed in a single location, making it easier to search for data on a specific topic.

Security
With all of this data being shared, security becomes a major issue; not only for the system itself, but amongst your fellow users.  Sometimes, there are certain parts of a conversation that are only meant for specific people.  Wave implements security measures to your specifications.  You can keep a user from seeing a specific sidebar conversations or files.

Simplicity and Familiarity
Too often, new platforms require users to learn an entirely new experience.  With Wave, everything looks and feels similar to e-mail and social networking sites.  Instead of a list of e-mails, you have a more manageable list of threads.  You can also minimize things like sidebar conversations and images to keep viewing simple on your screen.  Wave also incorporates a drag and drop functionality to easily add other users to your conversation.

If initial demand is any indication of its success, Google Wave is likely to be the next big communications platform.  With this beta test, we will see if the user experience provides enough of a distinction to turn people away from their current platforms.

David Fleming is the Director of Corporate Communications for T2 Communications, a CornerWorld company.

Tags: David Fleming, e-mail, Google, Google Wave, Social Networking, texting, Twitter