+1

I agree. Google Wave is great, but they just failed to get people interested.

Again, Google Wave is part of Labs. Lab products are generally more used by geeks of geeky people than "normal people".

For me, Wave just started and we shouldn't consider it dead yet.

I think the google wave team bet on the fact that by creating an open API, they would make developers interested in creating alternatives to Google Wave for using waves. Just like emails: you got gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc, etc, etc.

agreed.

When did you use wave.?

Seriously, it was called "Google Wave in limited Preview". Do you think a platform that complex with an open API just falls from the sky and magically works like hell?

Google Wave is getting better every day because of the hard work of a very inventive team, so try to be a little open-minded.

And today, it is quite usable. I open it each time I open my browser. I've been using it for nearly a year, and it really is getting better and better. It's still part of labs people, so if ever you encounter a bug, just shrug, send the error report to Google and they will fix it.

I forced myself to use wave in 2009, when it was kind of a battlefield, and I don't regret it one minute.

I agree.

I found that explaining people that Wave is "a hybrid between emails, chat, wikis with live conversions in which you can insert gadgets that can do virtually anything" pretty much sums up what they need to know =)

The fact is, the explanation "emails are old and destroy collaboration, wave is a new communication platform with endless possibilities" scares people away because they like keeping what they're comfortable with.

The whole point of Wave is it being a different protocol than the email protocol. Email's were invented before browsers. Email are just letters that you receive and can send instantly without going to the post office. But there isn't much more to them. Actually, I almost only use wave with the people who have wave.

However I agree a direct implementation in the gmail interface would be welcome. Or even just a link. Like the Buzz button, but with "Wave" written on it, with the number of unread waves.

I agree the lack of integration with Google Docs is a bummer. but the whole point of the Wave API is that any developer can create specific gadgets, extensions or robots for particular tasks. So I think with a little patience some system would have emerged.

Usability nightmare? When have you been using it? When it was in Preview, I understand it could scare people away, it was buggy, there was no implementation of the (very useful) undo function, etc, etc. But it was a limited preview! And now, Wave is still part of Google Labs, it's in Beta. So it's not supposed to be fully functional yet. They're working on it. And it is already very functional, for that matter.

I understand. In many cases, you have to force people to change there routine or they won't do it. It's sad...

The scroll bar works just fine if you don't panic when seeing it for the first time. It never killed my productivity. The fact is, it is many times less awkward using Google Wave's scroll bar when there's a page (or thread) loading. The traditional scroll bar gets shorter and shorter as the page loads and it can get quite confusing.

TechHaze wouldn't exist if Google Wave wasn't there. From the start, we used wave. Even when it was in very buggy "Preview" (without ctrl+z), it really did enhance productivity.

"Many people may have time for this kind of show, but other want to get work done." Now that's plain insulting. We worked hard with Wave, and it is the best communication platform which can be used (as e-mails) for a very broad range of situation. It promotes transparency, incentive and constructive critic.

Now I understand that Wave isn't much use if people don't start using it, but that's not really the Google Wave team's fault. They could have done better, but they are programmers.

"Leaning on what people already know has significant advantages". The only advantage I can think of is that people don't get scared away cause they can cling to the old stuff they know. But there is no reason we should continue using technologies that were invented when browsers didn't even exist.

Google Wave is a great platform if you use it seriously, if you don't flood important waves with useless comments, and if you delete useless information regularly.

I know for a fact that the American Red Cross uses Google Wave for working on evaluating the 2004 tsunami relief projects. Do you think that they would have started using it if it were a "chaotic, productivity killing attention-whore"?

Google Wave is the type of tool that deserves everyone making a small effort. And seriously, it's not that complicated. Just don't regard it as email, don't try to cling to old stuff.

And now to all people who continue to criticize: what else do you propose? Email kills productivity. Google docs and Wikispaces are good for creating documents, but nothing else, really. What other online tool can you use to brainstorm, organise events, write collaborative articles, do interviews, etc.? The fact is, there's no usable alternative to Google Wave.

thank YOU for the gorgeous image!