Was Google Wave Ahead Of Its Time? Google Doesn't Seem To Think So.
When I think of the word "wave," it conjures up images of white sand and clear, turquoise waters of beaches in the Caribbean or the Gulf of Thailand. Google decided to use the word as the name of their newly-failed application suite.
Recent news from Google Inc. stated that they will pull the plug on their Wave application. Wave, an online application suite, was a collection of tools used for "online collaboration." It was supposed to solve various problems when multiple people were working on a project and brainstorming ideas, concepts and other group related tasks. With so many hands stirring the pot of most business projects, Wave was an attempt to simplify collaboration efforts.
Many loyal Wave supporters were disappointed by the news, but held onto hope that Wave tools will live on through open-source channels. These faithful users were early adopters and learned to understand Wave's power. These users claim that Wave was simply ahead of its time and that Google did not give the product a thorough enough explanation as to the purpose of the online suite.
I have to agree with the second portion of the Wave users' complaint. I spent several days tinkering with the various Google Wave tools. I watched the Google how-to videos that were supposed to explain all the wonderful uses for Wave. After all the research, testing and trials, I came away confused and disinterested in the product.
What about the claims that Google Wave was ahead of its time? I really can't answer that question. Perhaps I'm one of those people that can't see into the future, but apparently neither can Google.
If the mega-corporation pulls the plug on one of their products, you'd better believe that they don't see Wave as a popular tool now or in the future.
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