Google’s Wave of the Future

Posted by Katie Noonan

Google made waves last May when the company announced the launch of Google Wave a revolutionary new personal communication and collaboration tool that combines e-mail, instant messaging, wikis and even social networking. Google initially released the platform to developers and in September they extended a preview of Google Wave to 100,000 of its users (a Google account was all that was needed to receive an invite). Those users were each given 25 invites that they could then share with friends and colleagues.

According to Google, “Wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.” What’s more, Google Wave occurs in real-time so participants can conduct conversations and make edits live.

If Google Wave takes off, it has the potential to be a great public relations tool. Multiple members of a firm can draft a press release or publicity plan in one Wave, communicate with clients, or record action items from a meeting. The opportunities that Google Wave could create are limitless.

Currently reviews from users suggest that Google Wave has a few bugs to work out, but that it is a streamlined, easy to use platform with potential. Google hasn’t announced when they will release Wave to the general public, but those interested in learning more about it can watch Google’s Dr. Wave intro here.