Recently I have had the pleasure of toying with one of Google's latest technologies, Google Wave.At first glance, Wave looks like an enhanced e-mail system... which is a pretty cool thing within itself; e-mail is one of the most outdated technologies in use. Electronic communication has grown into so much more than what an electronic version of a paper letter can provide... but that subject warrants its own blog post.
Wave is actually so much more than what it initially appears.
Wave is a collaboration tool to be utilized by anyone and everyone, whether it's between friends, family, coworkers, classmates... or any combination of the above.
It all starts when someone initiates a Wave, which is similar to an introductory e-mail or conversation... and it lets loose from there. Collaboration happens in real-time. You watch as you and everyone invited into the wave reads, types, changes, and uploads all at the same time. It's not a static document that gets sent around.... everyone is looking into a window of what everyone else is doing and thinking right at that moment.
It is a living, breathing, fluid document.
It is dynamic... people can be added at any time, reply and share in the middle as well as the end, adding 'gadgets' for maps, games, drawing, charts, and so much more...
Wave is still in Preview and access to it can be requested here.
I can't wait until it is released to the general public... to use it for virtual meetings, study sessions, sharing pictures with my family...
I believe it will revolutionize the way I communicate with people. I hope it does the same for everyone else as well.
