In the beginning
I remember May 28, 2009 as if it was yesterday. A friend had emailed me a link to the demo of Google’s latest shiny object, Google Wave. As I watched the video demo, the hosts revealed a list of wondrous features; live multi-user updating, nested comments, filters, and wait one second – was that a playback feature? I began to imagine Wave replacing the dozens of rambling and broken email chains. It could be used for documenting project notes where everyone could contribute and collaborate in real time. This could change everything!
OK, who wants invites?
At the end of September, 2009 the Wave invite hysteria began. You learned quickly who your real friends were as they rationed out their 10 precious invites. The Wave hysteria reached a fever pitch as the invites began appearing on Ebay, with bids reaching into the thousands of dollars.
My invite arrived from a friend, and with one click (well there was that 2 week period of waiting for confirmation) there it was on my screen, Google ‘frickin’ Wave. Here were those magical features and functionality at my beck and call. The problem was only a few of my contacts were actually on Wave. I joined two Waves where we talked about Google Wave, we posted back and forth and then… nothing. OK well, maybe not nothing, but there was very little to do in Wave by yourself.
Eventually I did start using Wave for event planning notes and creating a Wiki-like stream of knowledge around social media and emerging technologies. But it never really became a part of my everyday online habits. I continued to use email, instant messenger and social media platforms as I had done before. Wave just did not fit into a natural spot in my work flow. It turned out it was a little bit of everything and not enough of anything to replace what i was already doing. It never really caught on with anyone I worked with. My Waves became ripples (insert LOL here) and eventually I stopped going back.
Death is not the end
Oh, but fear not. This is not the end of Google Wave. Remember the Innovation credo ‘If you’re not failing, then you’re not taking enough chances’. Wave’s important features will be incorporated into new upcoming Google products.
I think one of the big issues with Wave was that it was just too different. Wave wanted me to change how I work and adapt to its way of doing things.
Why do you think Google Wave failed? Is it too much to expect that our online work habits can change to adapt to a radical new approach like Wave? Or was Google Wave simply a bad product?