by John Benson

Created on: December 01, 2009

Still in its infancy, Google Wave is possibly one of the most exciting things to happen to communication and the web since email. Like a surfer patiently waiting in the sea, catching a Wave is an exhilarating and empowering experience.

So, what is Google Wave?

Google define's Google Wave as: "an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration" [http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html]

So what Google Wave offers is a space where we can chat with friends, but importantly this happens in real time: You can watch the words of your friends and colleagues unfold in front of your eyes.

Blending chat forums and instant messaging, a 'wave' can also include images, video and maps all added in real time. A whole range of web content can be brought into your wave and enhance collaborations with colleagues and conversations with friends. You can simply use wave to discuss your night out with friends, or you can use it to finalise a document you have been working on with work colleagues.

The Google Wave 'home page' is a modular format that resembles the look of email. You can add contacts, update your profile and make the space your own. Once this has all been tailored and contacts added, you can begin a wave, or possibly reply to invitations to join other people's waves.

What is a Wave?

A wave is Google's name given to a conversation that might start with a single sentence and that might end with hundreds of conversations, contributors and images and other rich media. Like the swell of the sea, a small wave can end up causing quite a splash!

The whole point of a wave is that it is shared. This is not the solipsistic world of blogging or even social networking sites like Facebook. Rather, Google Wave requires you to share and collaborate, invite participants and interact with people in real time.

Any part of a conversation or document can be commented on, at any point, and by any invited contributor. It allows conversations to escape the sequence of time, so someone entering late can point out a problem with something said early on.

At anytime during a wave you can also use the 'playback' function which allows you to see how the conversation evolved and who said/added what.

What makes Google Wave so special?

Google Wave offers us the beginning of a glimpse into what communication may develop into in the future. What makes Google Wave really exciting is that we don't even know, or haven't yet thought of the possibilities it could deliver.

One area where the wave may expand is in extensions and plug-ins. Allowing us to add additional functionality to our waves so we can achieve more and go beyond what communication tools have previously allowed.

But maybe the most exciting thing is that Google Wave is open software, and uses an open API. The implications of this are that anyone can add to and improve the idea. Someone may think up possibilities for the software that haven't been imagined yet.

We could be at the very start of something incredibly exciting.

Learn more about this author, John Benson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.