Google Wave: Mark Status As Undefined
Few times there has been such blinding hype around a new App, a new App Platform. But on the other hand it is a Google App. And Google has become the master of the PR Stunts and the “Its awesome, Wait and see in 1 year from now when you will actually see it” kind of shows. Because those are exactly the components of how Google Wave was proposed.
Along a video trying to explain what they wanted to do with Wave and what Wave was.
Since they didn’t wanted to compare it with anything in specific, then they proceeded to announce it as “A new way to collaborate and communicate”.
That was enough to play with the perception of the neophytes and the social media addicts. I was skeptical for some good reasons, The most important one being; Google History.
Lets Do A Quick Stroll Down Memory Lane…
After all they had some incredibly hyped and failed products like Google Answers, Lively, Knol, among many other even myself cannot bear (or care) to remember.
(see?, it was quick)
More on Google Wave Background Story
As i am always a avid fan of looking behind the scenes and background story of everything that strikes my fancy. Google Wave looked like a good subject to explore. What called my attention was who was leading it.
Previous to working for Google, He worked at Microsoft and was part of they guys who pushed for .NET and there is a interesting project that never was in the early .NET history called “Project Hailstorm”. That was conceptualized as a way to link user identity with data streams and made that shareable. Unfortunately like many early 2000’s Microsoft concepts. They proved to be pretty much impossible to pass the from concept to reality as they were way out there and the back end tech didn’t even existed to bring such a thing to a mainstream scale.
I read from some Microsoft Employees that Vic Gundotra was around in the times of Hailstorm conceptualization. So while there is impossible to be sure he knew all the details. It is possible.
This problem that hailstorm tried to solve is one that is being now tackled by Ray Ozzie and that while the elements are there (Feedsync, Azure and Live Framework, etc). The scale and logistics still prove to make it a extremely hard problem to solve.
But returning to Google Wave. Now you only need to look on what Vic has worked on there:
“Gundotra joined Google in June 2007, after taking a one-year delay working on charitable endeavors due to a Microsoft employee non-compete agreement. His responsibilities as Vice-President of Engineering include Google's mobile phone applications, and its developer efforts, including OpenSocial, Google Gadgets, Google Gears, Android, and the more than 40 product APIs Google exposes.”
And there comes my “Aha” moment with Google Wave. When i first saw pics on it. For me it was like a repurposed iGoogle made to look like a cross of Gmail and Hotmail layouts.
So, Google Wave is Full Of Win or a Epic Fail?
That is biggest problem with the current news and so called reviews of Google Wave. THERE ARE NONE. There is no real news or real reviews of it. Why?, because Google muddled the water in a extreme way because the Google Wave Preview that is being shown now to some is not the same as the one for certain devs and not the one that is being used inside Google. All 3 are different. They could be seen exactly as Google Chrome development model of having 3 channels: Stable, Beta, Dev. In the case of Google Wave it is Preview, Dev and Internal.
So those calling it names right now and those calling it the best thing since sliced bread are both wrong and right because of the changing nature Google Wave is in right now. But it is true, As it is right now, Google Wave Preview is nothing more than a bad test.
It is not finished, it is not evolved, it is not stable, it is not in a final form, it is not feature complete, it is not tech complete and it is unmanageable if you got more than 5 active users in a session. For me there are several ways to look at it from 4 different perspectives as a manner to compare it and make sense of it:
I.-IF you use Google Services:
Google Wave would be like having iGoogle merged with Gmail into the same app but with things happening in real time and without you being able to manage it, because there are no controls for that.
II.-IF you use Windows Live:
Google Wave would be like suddenly having the full Windows Live Messenger feature set merged into Hotmail and instead of IM windows you had E-mail Message windows as your talk points.
III.-If you use Yahoo Services:
Google Wave would be like having the Yahoo Messenger feature set merged into Yahoo Mail and instead of IM windows you had E-mail Message windows as your talk points.
IV.-If you are in the Enterprise:
Google Wave would be like Microsoft releasing a app that merged Outlook, Parts of Sharepoint and Part of Groove into the same app and you could only have it as a Microsoft Online Service App.
(Repetitive explaining?, yes. But if that don’t gives a better general sense of what Google Wave is like, what will?)
Now you know how Google Wave feels based on the Scenarios Above. What if i told you that as it is right now. You cannot control it because there are not Time Management Controls and you have to live with it that way?. (said it already, also worth of repeating it)
…So why don’t we just wait?. I am sure that in classic Google fashion it will be actually usable by the time it reaches its first anniversary.
But What About Later?
There is no doubt that Google Wave will evolve and change and that they have to add Time Management Controls and Workflow Management Controls and so on. Given who is working on it, The only way to see it is as a Google Tech Test Bed where the Tech learned from Gmail, Gtalk, Google Docs, iGoogle, Google Gears and OpenSocial is being put into it as a way to also evolve all those products. But there are still many parts missing to make it compelling.
Google Wave right now is essentially only suitable for Webkit based browsers. While many state it is because the speed of JS and blah, blah, blah. There is more than that.
Google Chrome seems specially suitable because of Google Gears, Gtalk Video Plugin and new Google plugins like OD3 and NaCL (native client) getting into Chrome 4 and 5.
These are the technologies that will bring it to perform at the potential and way only in Demo Videos seem to show right now and that is technology that also happens to be vital for Chrome OS.
But that cannot happen right now because these plugins are not ready, Chrome is not really a finished browser yet either despite the insanely arrogant Software Version Labeling that Chrome sports.
All this lacks, without even counting that it is not stable or able to scale with truly mainstream numbers or that it may prove too fast for anyone to cope with. At least not someone that is not in a Desktop PC with Two Monitors.
So I predict that it will not truly take form until 6-12 months from now, That it may be more successful as app platform and communication protocol and that is almost impossible it gets any kind of a mainstream status in that time frame.
Get Your Google Wave Invite Nomination
If you want a invite nomination to Google Wave just leave a comment to this post. But remember to register your E-mail like this: _name_(at)_provider_(dot)_ext_ in the comment form.
The invite can take 1-3 days to reach you.
*Update 1* (06/11/09): i got 8 Direct Invites more.
*Update 2* (07/11/09): All 8 Direct Invites are now gone..
*Update 3* (10/11/09): I got 30 Direct Invites more.
*Update 4* (16/11/09): All 30 Direct Invites have been sent.
*Update 5* (21/11/09): i got 8 Direct Invites more.
*Update 6* (28/11/09): All 8 Direct Invites are gone.
*Update 7* (29/11/09): i got 40 Direct Invites more! (So far Appatic.com has given out 60)
.
Labels:
98 comments :
Nice post.
Did you have any invites?
I would love to get an google wave invite. Email: psklokk@gmail.com
Hi, I would really like to be nominated for an invite :)
My e-mail address is jonoyvind at gmail.com
I would like to be nominated also!
My e-mail is: Longva6293@gmail.com
Hey nice post, I would love to have an invite :D
You can reach me at ben.mayhew@gmail.com
riksmeklingsmannen@gmail.com would love a invite!
Nice post, i have loved a innvite.
MK.94@live.com
Meeeeeeeeeee
fredriksn@gmail.com
Can I have one? Pleease.
Slayt3ch@gmail.com
can i have one?
ole.a.emdal at gmaildotcom
Could i have a invite?
gonzo.f@gmail.com
I would love one. :)
isoprofen[at]gmail[dot]com
Would love one aswell, Mortensi88@gmail.com
Sign me up :)
daniabel[at]gmail[dot]com
Thanks!
I would really appreciate an invite if you have any available, thanks! :)
jallaballa86@gmail.com
Please send me one! mumfix@gmail.com
Please add me too: tws8888@gmail.com
It is not clear to me what you mean with "GW Invite Nomination". Will you fill the standard GW request form for us (unlikely) or do you actually have invitations to spare (more unlikely)? :)
Nice post though.
There are to form of invites. direct invites and invite nominations. The first are scarce as these will mean that you get Google Wave immediately. The latter don't run out and anyone can nominate just by adding a contact. i had direct invites and now i just can nominate.
i would love an invite! saw your tweet!
tennisstar103 at hotmail.com
thanks :):)
I would love to be nominated for Wave (pmcmurray{AT}gmail.com) Thanks!
Good rundown of how it currently is to use too (hasn't put me off wanting to try it)
Also saw your tweet so I am commenting for an invite. I really appreciate it! Thanks.
omgcharmander@gmail.com
Saw your tweet. I would love to get one if any available. Thanks!
rafael@salserofoods.com
All Invites have been sent to all those not in Google Wave. I check before sending them so i don't send it to people already sorted as registered by Google.
Love to wave please send me an invite @ blackbuckster@gmail.com
Can you invite me to google wave, please!! thanks
stanleyz9@yahoo.com.br
I'd love an invite too! (wave@gregercronquist.com)
Hi ... I would like to get an invite as well, if possible ..my email is desi.sastro@gmail.com
thanks a bunch...:-)
I would love an invite if any more are available. Thanks! mstoraasli@hotmail.com
me too - xmilous@gmail.com .. thanks a lot :o)
dverny@gmail.com thx for invite ;)
Still 23 invites left.
Even though it may still not quite be finished, I'm still INTENSELY curious and would like an invite. :-P esper8@gmail.com
21 invites left
please please please invite me! tserensits@gmail.com
I would love an invite : manu285@gmail.com
Thanks !
Would love an invite! serensits.tom@gmail.com
@gerard: yes
17 invites left
Nice Blog. Would love to have a Direct Invite from you. Already requested to Amanda at Simlar.
My Email is sahuranjeet [at] gmail.com
@avatarx Update for the request - Just got my invite from Amanda. Thanks.
Still 17 invites left
need an invite! miles.shebar@gmail.com
An invite would be much appreciated. Thank you.
kyle@fluidmarkup.com
invite please =)
eurismo [at] gmail.com
thanks!
One invite for me thanks. cp6621 (at) gmail (dot) com
Is it really that unstable an experience? I hear SAP are doing some cool things with it:
http://www.sapweb20.com/blog/2009/10/sap%E2%80%99s-gravity-prototype-business-collaboration-using-google-wave/
Would love to go find out myself - Thanks for an invite!
contact.jon[at]gmail[.]com
abi.corpus[at]gmail[dot]com
:)
Hi there! I've been dying to try out google wave but haven't got an invite yet for it. Can you please send me one so that I can experience it for myself and also write about what I think about it? Thanks!
cher.lotuspixel@gmail.com
15 invites left
Nice blog jon. I do happen to now about SAP actually. it is very different thing to do mashlet integrations into solutions. the mashlet is the thing being controlled by sap and that interacts with API and paths. So of course it will be more stable. It is not just about stable but about scale and limits of real-time collaborative interaction when you don't have Time Management Controls, Use Profiles and Filter Triggers. That is why i thin that the most interesting things done with Google Wave are as platform and since it will be federated too. That makes it almost certain. SAP and Novell with Pulse are two of the most interesting things being done with Wave. The other i think what Amazon and Salesforce is doing with it.
Cher:
Very nice to c-y visit plurk friend. A pleasure even. :D
All invites above this comment have been sent.
Still 15 invites left.
it;s my birthday on the 20th! :) give me an invite at dtothealex@gmail.com thank you.
invite me please! thanks! thanks!
neilnamoro@gmail.com
ooh, enticing! similarly, like thisistheplan my birthday is one the 20th as well! :) dianakathrina@gmail.com yay! :) thank you :)
All invites above have been sent.
10 Direct Invites left.
Can I get an invite?
invite me please prabhav.mishra@gmail.com
Great post. I would love it if you could send me an invite.
contineo AT gmail.com
google wave invite please mollytyn@gmail.com thanks
cool!
please invite me at clementgk@gmail.com
thx a bunch! :)
Kaeler:
I guess you forgot to add your email.. :P
All invites above have been sent
5 Invites Left!!!
Please invite me:
bmartinell@gmail.com
Thanks ;)
one invite 4 me pls?
radu.drg@gmail.com
Thanx alot!!!
invite me at fsmith985 [at] gmail.com, please!
thanks
Invites have been sent.
2 invites left!!
Hey, nice post.
Could you invite me, please?
bsalgueiro at gmail dot com
Thanks,
Can I have an invite please.
joanne32095 @ yahoo . com
me likey invitey! google wawa! wawaweewa!
email: lilslil@rambler.ru
All Invites are gone (for now)
All Invites Sent
Can you please invite me
davido666@gmail.com
Thanks,
Would appreciate an invite.
_lbellvoh_(at)_gmail_(dot)_com_
Thanks!
I would also like to try this service out :)
_roelani_(dot)_kadmon_(at)_me_(dot)_com_
Invites above have been sent
5 invites left
Nice post!
If possible do send me an invite at sinha.mrinal_@_gmail_com
Will be gr8 if you can pass on an invite to sreyans(_at_)gmail(_dot_)com
I'd love an invite. _tkgoodsell_(at)_hotmail_(dot)_com_
Thx
I'd love an invite too
deleted123456 (at) gmail (dot) com
Invites requested above have been sent
60 Invites have been given away so far via Appatic
Now i got 40 invites more to give away!!!...
Incredible but true. No other small blog has given this many Google Wave invites that i know of.
I'd love an invite...thanks for doing this! cmgriffin(at)gmail(dot)com
Please invite me! bmeisen at gmail
Would appreciate an invite very much !
alvintch@gmail.com
cheers
Invites for the requests above have been sent.
35 invites left
Can you please invite me
_dr_(at)_finanalysis_(dot)_net_
Thank you.
In the end 90 invites were given.
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