What is Google Wave

BDR recently received an invite for Google Wave. As a forward thinking internet advertising agency we were quite excited to test the new communication platform, which has been proclaimed to change the way we interact with each other online.

Google Wave is the next evolution in email. Essentially it is a real-time communication tool.

It also happens to be open source, which means developers will be able to build apps (gadgets) and extensions for additional functionality. Google Wave can also translate in real-time making it particularly useful for communicating in other languages. As well as this you can also drag and drop documents, which can be accessed by everyone on a Wave.

The Google Wave interface is very similar to email clients such as Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. It is designed using boxes, is quick loading and very user friendly. At the top it has a search box where by you can look for Wave history, people and specific keywords. The interface is customizable so you can reduce and take away boxes providing more room.

The actual functionality in terms of how you communicate with others is more like instant messenger than email. Everything is done in real-time making discussions on a Wave very engaging and relevant.

Google Wave is certainly going to help people communicate far more efficiently online. The drag and drop functionality and the ability to have a conversation and edit conversations amongst anyone on a Wave are definitely a winner. I am also particularly impressed by the ability to create gadgets and robots, which will no doubt drive innovation.

Overall I think Google Wave has bags of potential and will become very popular when it is release for everyone to use.