Archive for the ‘Google Wave’ tag
Google Wave – First impressions
I’ve been playing with Google Wave for about a week now, but I still haven’t figured out what to do with it. Yes, it has a lot of very cool features, but the as the combination is so unlike existing communication technology, it’s very difficult to know just how to use it. I doesn’t help that at this point there is virtually no integration with existing communication channels (e-mail, IM, twitter) making it so that you have to be on Google Wave to know if anything is happening on Google Wave. Most of the friends I’ve invited so far seem to have given up on trying to force this new technology into their lives. There’s probably some wisdom in that, but I’d like to see this catch on because I do think it has a lot to offer.
Ann Michael has an post at The Scholarly Kitchen that outlines similar woes. From the post:
Google Wave is a cacophony of functionality that doesn’t even try to reveal its value or purpose to the user. You have to be determined to use Google Wave in order to make it work for you. Even then, since it’s a “preview,” the functions you try to use don’t always work. Being a new user you are left wondering if the function doesn’t work or if you’re just not doing it right.
My hope is that Google Wave will become much more useful and user-friendly as more extensions are developed and more invites filter out into the general public. Once more people start to use it, it’s use(s) will become more defined.
That said, I have a couple invites left. I’d like to trade them for something interesting (handmade crafts, mix tapes, etc.). Comment if you’re into that idea.
