A New Kind of Mega-Application

Posted for Mohammed B H.

I really can’t wait to have the chance to try Google’s recent application. It really sounds impressive with so much potential if it really works as they say it would. Just think of all the inconveniences we have dealing with so many different communication and collaboration tools. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and even email, can really take so much of our time, just jumping from one another. Google’s Wave, promises to be one elegant application that combines all the recent trends of social networking and collaboration all in one place.

 

Google is opening the door to developers to build tools that runs with the applications, making it open source. According to Google, however, the public will not get to use the new application until later this year.

Think of Wave as one place that receives and organizes all your “streams” from twitter and facebook and many other applications. However, it does more in regards to simplifying collaboration between lots of people, using many of tools that Google already has.

I’m not going to try to list Wave’s features; I’ll let you find out for yourself:

http://www.cio.com/article/493707/Google_Wave_A_New_Kind_of_Mega_Application

There is also a very informative video from Google’s developer’s conference that talks in details about Wave: http://wave.google.com/

It seems that Google is continuing its strategy of providing better services for free to the public. I’m wondering wither, Wave is going to be a success, or another Gtalk. 

Comments

[AJ]

In a basic form it is a combination of email and instant message. Features like shared writing, real time collaboration of text, work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, add more people anywhere in the process. The shared editing seems like an advanced Wiki where multiple updates can happen simultaneously.
Though this is still in development phase, we have to wait and see what finally comes out.

[Susan Nguyen]

The article seems to imply that it is better than Microsoft SharePoint. It does not sound like it could replace SharePoint because SharePoint is a huge database that supports many different types of applications. Wave only sounds like an application that can only compete with one aspect of SharePoint and that is socializing and communicating. SharePoint also has applications such as a content management system but Wave does not have it.

[Mustapha Oluwa]

I think it will be better to wait and see what Google has in wave before making comment on their application. We all know things are easier said than done, and no matter how good or bad your product might look, you still promote the product. It is only the users that can tell what is what (which application is better), and this can be done when they are both in use.

[Farruq Ahmed]

I firmly believe that Google’s Wave will definitely create waves in the social networking market. So far all the products that Google came out with are a big success. This tool will be following the same trend. Google will have a stiff competition as Oracle is also launching new enterprise networking tool. When big companies like these enter a market like this then definitely the product that the will come out will be a big success.

[Farooq]

I think the best thing that we can do right now is to wait till the wave comes out in the market. Any enterprise that comes out with the application like this becomes successful only when they have users attached to it. But when it comes to Google's application no matter what ever is available was always a Home Run on a wide array.

[Michael Howard]

I am not sure that this application will compete with Microsoft's SharePoint, and quite frankly I am surprised that Google is releasing a product like this. In a highly competitive market, is this the best idea for Google? I am sure they spent a lot of time and money developing this program, and it will be interesting to see if it takes off.

[Angelica Barrera]

Google has already penetrated other market areas with products like GTalk, Google Docs, Picasa, and even Goog 411 so why not Google Wave. I’m looking forward to trying it out but like others have mentioned all we can do at this point is wait. As for
it from breaking into the corporate world I don’t see this happening anytime soon. Similar to anything else, the major setback will be security concerns.

[Nachiket Mehta]

I find Google's strategy to enter different markets very interesting. Google has always piloted its new tools to the general public and let people decide if it is ready for enterprise use. On the other hand, Microsoft gives new products to its marketing army and let them force it on Microsoft environments. I really like how the author compared SharePoint with Wave. From personal experience, SharePoint does a good job managing content. It has good integration with Visual Studio to develop applications. However, all this costs real money. Google always makes it easy and inexpensive to develop applications by using open source languages and applications. Google also has ownership of FaceBook which should give Google a lot of data about how a social networking tool should be engineered.

One setback that Google has had it Orkut. They tried competing with FaceBook and MySpace with it and failed badly. I hope Wave sets a new standard though.

[Raj Luxmi]

This article reminds me of this documentary I was watching couple of years back on how Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page came up the idea of inventing Google. Their goal was to make Google a single stop and shop tool for customers. And with implementing Googledocs, Gtalk, Picasa, Orkut, I think they have done a pretty good job in meeting their goals. And now we have Google Ware where people can communicate and collaborate without switching to any other tool. There are some really good features which this tool has such as ability to catch up on a Wave thread, if someone has missed the past content. It also has its own text editor which allows us to upload multimedia content. And above all, it is an open source tool. I think this tool would be really helpful for high school or university students to conduct virtual meetings for free but as for business purposes, I don’t think companies should try to implement it. The only concern I have is that, people might lose their focus on jobs and tracking work progress would become cumbersome. Even in some companies where chatting outside the network is restricted, employees still communicate via Gtalk or yahoo chat which is inbuilt in their email. As mentioned in the article, users will have to be aware of their liability for data sharing issues as regulations and policies continue to change. This might create a security, integrity and privacy issues. Besides, I think when we try to integrate more than two or three applications on one platform, navigations become a bit confusing. So, it’s better for companies to keep collaboration tools separated from their email system.
Moreover, right now since this tool is still in the development phase, we cannot really comment on how well it will establish its place in today’s market. Like Mustapha mentioned, things are easier said than done, it really depends on the customers how they accept it. So as other mentioned, we will have to wait and watch once it comes out but looking at Google’s past history of application, I think users might like it and it would be an interesting tool to use.

[Oli Shields]

Thanks for the heads-up on this. I signed up on the link to use the beta test version. It seems to me that this product is more evolutionary rather than revolutionary, with the idea mainly being to offer a way to integrate Google's already existing products such as Maps, Picasa etc into one application in addition to providing them for standalone use. That said, I like the way Google is always looking to add on products as opposed to say hotmail which didn't change for many years. I see this as being useful for home use, for example I might set it up for a sports team I play on. I agree with the comment in the article linked that to be used widely in business settings "Google should (and likely will) try to incorporate Wave into Google Apps", security concerns etc. aside I can then see it being very useful potentially as a virtual project space especially with various developer applications to be added on. I look forward to trying out.

[Gilbert Vega]

Google Wave sounds AWESOME! Google never ceases to amaze me, they truly do have some of the most bright and talented people working for them to be able to come up with such innovative solutions to our everyday interactions. I really like the fact that this web app is able to combine all of our social networking pieces into one location. I know that mail programs (outlook & Mac Mail) have always been golden in my eyes because I only have to go to one place to get everything I am looking for. I am glad that Google is taking this idea and running with it in terms of social networking.

As for the business end, I do not really see this working for all companies, just those that are more creative in nature. Many organizations enjoy structure, and a free flow of ideas as proposed in Wave may scare traditional companies. I think it will certainly be interesting to see how developers leverage this opportunity and if they can create an adequate solution for the enterprise as a whole.

[Michelle Trunda]

I think it's a great addition - I like the idea of consolidating in one place, rather than visiting multiple sites for my "news." I agree that it doesn't compete with SharePoint, but anything's possible going forward. My company uses SharePoint for document sharing/internal websites, but no one uses it for messaging or streaming in external content.

[Naraphong Apirutvarakul]

Thanks for a good article. Wave is quite impressive especially it works under a browser. This product merges e-mail and IM together; I think it's a good idea and I love to use it. Hopefully, it allows us to use with our blogs and skype, so we don't have to worry about posting our team meeting.
I also think open source is a good idea because add-on will make Wave available and adaptable for all users.

[Peter Zucker]

At the first look, it promises to be a very innovative and advanced application that allows users to combine their virtual communication and collaboration tools under one application. However, as Google always likes to pick-up consumer trends and tries to transform them into a new software solution, they have first to proof that it works as promised. My biggest concern about this new application is security. Because it is open source, it is easier for hackers to get access and manipulate it as desired. In addition, the size of Google promises many users, and therefore, makes it a attractive target for people with bad intentions. After having said this, I am not sure if big enterprises allow their employees to use such a vulnerable application within their premises.
But overall, let’s see first what happens.

[Eric Knox]

Thanks for pointing out a cool new (upcoming) product. Like many others here, I think Google Wave sounds like a pretty cool tool. Am I the only one, though, who thinks that Google is determined to control the world? I don't know if it's a big brother type of thing, or just the stated desire to be a one stop shop, but it seems like they can't seem to stay out of any potential market.
As for business use, I think (and hope) that we're poised for a potentially significant shift in the way that people communicate both within their companies and with clients. Google Wave could be the kind of product that helps this shift happen.

[Yahia]

Google has been venturing in many areas and industries. We have seen the launch of the Google phone recently. They are aggressively participating in any software or website ideas. Their plan is to get a part of the success of any of these ventures. Also, while they are doing that, they are increasing the number of eyeballs that see their advertisements and contributing to their revenue which mainly comes from advertisements.
This strategy has been paying well for Google and it is apparent in their financial statements year after year. Therefore, I expect Google to continue seeking many other ideas such as Google wave until they hit the jackpot and keep increasing the advertisement during this process.

[Georgina Brandon]

I think Google wave is a cool tool because it have a combination of email and instant message I think it will be a great cool for collaboration, but at the same time I don’t think it will compare with share point. I think share point will have the upper hand on Google wave. I will love to use goggle wave so I can do an s side by side compare of Google wave and share point.

[Tariq Vora]

Google comes out with great products and new spin on old ones. Wave is a great idea, the collaboration of multiple social sites, browsers is great. The time wasted on going back and forth to sites, waiting for replies, can be painful. The chat feature seeing what people are typing can be good and bad, but it takes online conversation a step closer to having a real conversation. Can't wait to use Wave!

[Sean T. K.]

I'm not convinced.

First thoughts are that the application is WAY too busy. The assumption here is that everyone will WANT one place to go for all of their social interfaces. When I think about and want to use facebook, I go to facebook and that's it. I could see a facebook/twitter interaction or a Linked-in/career builder marriage, but an all in one seems unproductive.

There are advantages to having some things seperate. All in one for me, means all in one for whomever may get into my account. It seems like with google wave, that all of my spoofed spam will now potentially reach of my contacts, colleagures aross all of the different social mediums.

I could potentially see the sales/marketing industry drooling over this, but not sure it would readily win over the masses.

At what point does information overload come in?

[Dr. T]

I think you all may be missing some of the most important aspects of Wave (I sat through the entire 1:20 demo) and that is the API and extensibility of the environment so that you can develop wavelets as you see fit. It's not just "email and social networking" it is the potential for collaboration in many forms with the strength and flexibility of the Google Web Toolkit (GWT). I can see the development of engineered patterns of collaboration for use within Wave in a drop in format so that I can plan meetings without having to be concerned about the tool (it's all within an environment I am already familiar with). It will be fun to see how this plays out. Don't count Google out, they have some realllllly smart people there.

[Mujtaba Safdar]

Sounds a lot like Nextaris (www.nextaris.com).

Here's what SearchEngineWatch said about Nextaris in 2004.
http://searchenginewatch.com/3402891

From a Business perspective Gmail is easier to use, less expensive, and has more useful integrated features (i.e. video chat) but obviously the Exchange Admin will tell everyone differently. At the end of the day all the user hears is 'email' and email is email - they don't understand the differences and from their perspective the pain of change is greater than the pain to the business since they don't see the 'cost of legacy client/server software/hardware and dozens of IT FTEs' coming out of their paycheck - but that cost does indeed hit everyone's paycheck. Wave is the platform that definitely beats Office, SharePoint, InfoPath, Excel, Windows Server, and Outlook. Many questioned Google's culture of innovation before monetization, but Wave not only beats Outlook, it also replaces Gmail since it in effect renders a stand-alone email app as relatively useless - few companies would have been so bold. If Google would have tried to compete against Office 1 on 1 we would have seen limited innovation, instead they took a true scientific approach and looked at the issues faced by people working together to accomplish any task and asked what we should have, not what we do have. Wave will be as central to the enterprise of tomorrow as Office is today. The best aspect of Cloud Computing is the ability to put people and business before IT. People should always come first. Wave is an absolute grand slam for Google and the global economy.

[Nachiket Mehta]

I agree with some of the comments on this article and I disagree with some others. I think that it would be great to have one central place for all online information that people are interested in but I doubt how customizable this will be. I think that wave is a way for google to really introduce cloud computing to regular people without having to come up with a complicated process for development. I was looking that they are going to release a lot of open source tools to start developing cloud applications and they will be hosting these. What about enterprises that are still not convinced by the cloud model? Are we going to see some real business applications in the wave? Google has to convince businesses to host their applications and data here so that it is becomes widely accepted in the personal and corporate space. A lot of these activities and tools are blocked in the workplace, but some are not. How is google going to handle this? I suppose there are a lot of questions about cloud computing in general that need to be answered before we can say whether this mega application will work or not.

[Pathik]

I am always looking forward to try Google's next service. The main reason for this is it's free. I'm not losing anything if I don't like it (which doesn't happen very often). I use a lot of the Google's servies such as Gmail, Docs, Finance, News, Calendar etc. so, Google has become a one stop shop location for me. I like not having to go to multiple sources if I can avoid it. Twitter and Facebook are two of the few sites that I visit outside of Google's services. If Wave can eliminate 2 more sites that I frequently visit then, I would definitely be interested in trying this out. Whether it works or not, of course, remains to be seen. However, looking at some of the features of Wave and my past experiences with Google services, I can safely say I'll be using Google Wave when it's released.

[Zackary Webb]

This seems like a clear challenge to Facebook. The social web is about conversation, and this is Google's way of explicitly owning that conversation through integrated email, IM, video etc. The result is a larger space in which people can interact and share information in a huge variety of ways.

One could argue that Facebook is better positioned to win this fight because they have well established social networks in place -- FB is already the social space of choice. However, Google’s ability to integrate profiles from Gmail and everything else to consolidate separate existences into one user account may be the killer app. I wonder, how can the interaction be ported out to other destinations, such as joining a conversation on Wave from your Twitter account? Regardless, Wave seems like a cool thing. It will be interesting to watch this unfold. Maybe it will be the Facebook killer, like FB was the MySpace killer. This is technological evolution.

[Miodrag Zagorov]

This area as mentioned by other comments, my belief and essentially fact that this is an area highly competitive and will definitely attempt to compete with sharepoint. I am not sure why other comments and commentators do not believe this will not work. I bet you this might be a similar competition as blackberry to IPhone in the business world. Where Iphone is trailing Blackberry in business but I say in 3 years that Iphone might take over. Similarly Google's Wave to Microsoft's Sharepoint. We'll see. Who thought Facebook would be more successful that Myspace even that FB was later in the game but look now! Facebook is essentially the same thing as My space but one works a bit better than the other.

Exactly... We will see. I have faith in Google ans Stock :)