Google Wave : Exploring the New Innovation of Google

This week in my class of, “Social Media for Public Relations”, we learned about the remarkable innovation that arrived to the Google family, Google Wave. When I was invited to Google Wave, I thought that it would be simple, just like my reliable Gmail account, my Google calendar, or even my Google alerts, but I was very much mistaken. Google Wave is a very confusing program but it is something that can change the way the web works when it comes to social media and communication. I learned the components of Google Wave through reading, “Google Wave An Experimental Ride” by Serdar Yegulalp of Information Week. Yegulalp explained that Google Wave is an experimental collaboration system that combines what we all use on the web every day.

Google Wave is a way to simplify our lives into one program for many different functional web applications. The system includes an email factor which is organized differently than a Gmail account or any other email website. Instead of just emails, Google Wave allows conversations like chatting which are call threads. These discussion threads are ways to communicate with people who are sharing their interests like a chat room or in a way like Twitter. These threads can also become a part of discussion boards with other Google Wave accounts.  I found this to be very confusing because when Corinne pressed the play back button we saw many other messages and threads from people she never knew before. I like this aspect because you can share the information with the world, or in this case with other Google wave users. Another aspect of this interesting program is the use of Wiki. I think this could work well for a class project or class discussion but I feel it is a breach of trust for other users if their posts are changed or edited. If we used this for class, I feel it would help with communicating when we are not in class. This also applies to the instant messaging aspect. Instant messaging is just another way of communicating to other users of Google wave but is seen as a venue for “real time discussion”, as Yegulalp states. Each discussion is logged and you can comment on previous posts as you wish, which acts as an organization tool.

I think that Google Wave is a great addition to the Google team. The application is a bit confusing and tricky to figure out but 6 years ago our emails might have been just as confusing. With more practice I feel like Google Wave could make my communication on the web simple and effective. The more advances in technology the more ways we can communicate with one another on a greater scale.