How Big of a Deal is Google Wave? Very.
You may be noticing the buzz about Google Wave and wondering if it is just a bunch of hype over the latest shiny object on the web. Google aficionados seem to think this is a game changer… a disruptive technology that will fundamentally alter the way people communicate. But are they just enthralled by the Google mystique and overly impressed by a slick demo of some clever technology?
Well, you can put me in the camp with those who believe that this is a technological milestone with significance comparable to radio, television, computers, and the Internet itself. Like all of those key developments, Google Wave is not so much an invention as a synthesis of many components into a unified technology that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
I can hear some saying, “oh, brother. This wave site is just a next generation email application. Not that big a deal.” Even if Google Wave were just an “email on steroids” proposition, that would still be pretty huge given there have only been incremental advances in email over the last 40 years. But Wave is much, much more than that.
By starting from scratch with a fresh look at the concept of “communication” and with all the Web 2.0 technology available today, Google has developed a platform that will dramatically streamline the communication process while it enables and facilitates the creation of still greater technologies. Just as computer operating systems spawned entire industries driven by application developers, the Google Wave Platform/Program/Protocol will spawn untold new businesses and industries.
Case in point: WaveCenter. We envisioned WaveCenter long ago as a social network where people could easily collaborate on projects in very flexible but structured ways. Whether it’s writers collaborating on stories, scientists doing research, or entrepreneurs building their businesses, WaveCenter will provide applications custom made to help people work together in very specific ways. Before Google Wave, that vision was simply too ambitious. Soon it will be reality.
Through its concept of federated open source servers and extensible architecture, Google Wave will quickly become the platform onto which all other social networks, communication applications, and web services will be compelled to dock – not through coercion but because it will be the conduit through which data flows smoothly and easily. From the end-users’ perspective the value of every application they use will be enhanced through it’s connection to Wave. An application not integrated with Google Wave will be isolated, like CompuServe in the early days of the Internet.
Google has a history of building better mousetraps – from the original search engine to AdWords to AdSense to Google Apps, etc… but Google Wave may just be their greatest contribution to humanity yet.
