Google has announced the forthcoming release of Google Wave. Touted as their answer to what email would look like if it had today's technology, the preview looks like it might deliver on its ambitious promises. Read on for my take on whether it will take off, and how it could be a marketing tool.
It's always amazed me how SMS text messaging - our most simple and "primitive" form of online communication - is probably it's most successful. It only allows 160 characters. And now Twitter looks almost as successful, and it only allows 140 characters!
When the idea of MMS was first mooted, everyone thought it would be taken up really quickly - and ultimately replace SMS. But to date, this has not happened, SMS still reigns supreme.
So when Google announced its soon to be released Google Wave product, intended to be a kind of hi-tech Email replacement, I couldn't help but wonder if it will face the same challenge as the MMS.
I've signed up for the developer release anyway, because it looks amazing. The brainchild of Google Maps developers Lars and Jens Rasmussen, Google Wave is their answer to the question: "What would email look like if it were invented today, rather than 30 years ago?" It combines the best of instant messaging and social networking in a kind of collaborative "on-the-fly" email.
If you take the time to look at the demo in the video at the end of this post, you'll see why I think it's fantastic. I'm pretty jaded about these things - and I could easily see myself using it. But will it catch on? I come back to Twitter - it's so powerful because it's so short and sweet. Are the things that make Google Wave so powerful (multimedia, collaboration, realtime) the very things that will make it slow catch on?
I don't think so. I think that at the very least it will be a powerful new networking tool, a kind of Linked In - The Next Generation. And it may yet surprise cynics like myself, and actually become the standard email tool of Web 2.0.
So what about using it as a marketing tool? Can we expect loads of spam on Google Wave. I guess the cynic in me says "yes...", but the opportunist in me sees very interesting potential. What if marketers could use Waves to incentivise brand influencers to punt their products? Because it's realtime, it could feasibly track a viral tree far better than email ever could. And provided the incentives are correct, it could be the kind of SPAM that you actually want to receive. (Yes, I suppose it does sound like some kind of dark science fiction.)
I think Google have yet again shown themselves to be able to stay well ahead of the pack. And hats off to them for opening the platform up, and getting developers to buy in. I'm looking forward to playing with this potentially rich and exciting medium.
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