What's Google Wave?

WAVE
=
EMAIL

Its structure is exactly that one of your email tool (like Gmail, Outlook... etc): Inbox, Outbox, Spam, Saved search, Contacts mailbox. Each contact has got its own email (for now it's just simonelovati@googlewave.com, for sure when Google will officially launch it, it will be possible to simply have your current email).

Each wave (as messages are called here) is like an email, with many answers below, grouped in what we call thread... if you give a glance to your Gmail, you will find it (and not just there), if someone answers to your email, this is followed by the answer.
It's possible to reply to each wave as you do with email, but here the thread is not optional but compulsory...

+
CHAT

To each contact a picture corresponds (like in Skype or in any chat), if you receive a wave and you answer, you simply write below and in real time your addressee will see your answer appearing below his wave, as in the chat.
So each wave becomes a real discussion with prompt cut and thrust (like chat) or asynchronous ones (like email)... each cut and thrust (that in the tool language are called Blips) can include a text, a picture or documents simply dragging them up (drag & drop).

+
SOCIAL MEDIA

Ok the email, ok the chat, but what the hell do the social media get to do with it?
Simple, if you want somebody else to join your discussion with an email, you must forward every email to the new addressee and hope that each participant will remember to copy the answer to everybody.

In Google Wave you simply add the small picture of whom you want to add to a specific wave and the new participant can express his opinion (like in a chat), but also make a Play-back of the whole previous talk.
Moreover, you can post public waves where everybody can comment (with some blips) and here that it becomes something similar to the current social media, like friendfeed.com.

How do I use Google Wave?

Although the current Google Wave preview gives a sample of its possible cooperation capabilities, it doesn't offer yet many essential features (such as the integration with the traditional email) to make it useable every day. Furthermore, it's still a bit messed up in its usability...

That's why someone labels it as unusable or useless.
I don't agree with it!

I have a privileged position:
My consulting company founds everything on cooperation and collaboration with a wide network of independent consultants not in-house...
... We consider the collaboration tools as a must!

With Google Wave I can talk in real time with the team that is following a specific project as I was used to do before with the Skype chat, but being sure that everything it's saved in a file as with the emails.

I can start a thread although not all participants are available, who's there answers in real time the other ones will join us later, when they will be available...
... I used to have two chances till now:
Real time synchronous tools (chat, skype... etc.)
Asynchronous tools (email, project management...)

Today Google Wave gives me both chances with just one tool!

We need to get used to it! We have to develop our "antibodies" for threads that are not sequential, monodromic anymore, but they evolve themselves through several points, towards different directions... but it's similar to what happens in front of a coffee machine or a good beer with friends, isn't it?

For those ones who think to need it and are not among the lucky invited ones, Google gave me some more invitations, give me your email and I will add you to the list.

Simone Lovati
Strategic marketing consultant, Partner, ADVBOUCLE Strategic Minds

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