|
The new unified communications system, Google Wave, is like creating a hybrid whiteboard with an email interface—only with considerably more Web 2.0 to 3.0 bells and whistles.
Think of a whiteboard where the users invite contacts to collaborate by writing on the whiteboard. Only this whiteboard allows users to add videos, links, images, maps, and a ton more, while recording everything so that anything added or erased can be “played back” later. Add translator tools and extensive API possibilities, and you have the backbone of what makes Google Wave the wave of the online future. Google Wave allows users to add friends or co-workers to their contacts who can join in their “waves.” These users can then be invited to a “wave” to collaborate on anything from bug tracking issues to movie date planning. To create a wave, it is the same as creating a new e-mail (hybrid whiteboard) or “wave;” though the wave is not anything like an e-mail except in appearance, since it is less of a send-receive format and more of a create and collaborate interface. The users invited to join in the wave can collaborate in real-time, with each person in the wave able to have varying user access levels extending to even private communications within a wave. While it sounds complicated, it is basically giving users a new way to collaborate with more features and added widgets. This robust email experience through the unified communications system Google Wave adds dimensions to conversations for B2B, B2C, and between individuals. Google takes e-mail format communication to the next level by allowing users to insert a YouTube video that plays in the correspondence, a live map that can be toggled and manipulated by all participants in “the wave,” as well as an intelligent link and image insertion tool. On top of interactive polls and live updates, the tool is like an online meeting tool, without the audio and video. Again, the tool does not work like an email, but more like a blog with the real-time feel of twitter (so a whiteboard with cool tools in real-time). The interface however very much could pass for an e-mail interface, so it would not be surprising for many users to see it as being like an e-mail platform initially. Rosy Translator Tool
The most impressive tool in the Google Wave system that received the greatest response from the developer community at the Google I/O convention is the "Rosy" translator tool. Rosy contains over 40 languages and translates what you type in real-time to the another person's native language on the other side of the wave. Best of all, you see both language versions simultaneously, making it easy to compare what is translated to what is originally written (language learning experience?). Rosy could bridge gaps for companies that previously might not have been able to establish business with international clients through providing what appears to be a real-time reliable translation of what is being said by either party. Open Source with Limitless API Possibilities
Being open source is a great plus for businesses since it allows a whole new world of economics to be opened from entrepreneurs seeking to develop around Google Wave. Businesses can also gain a custom look and feel as well as unique functionality, catered to their business needs. The communications will all be through Google Servers in a Federation environment, making it easy for developers around the world to partake in new inventions. Security of Information Sent and Received
Perhaps one of the most important and least covered topics surrounding Google Wave: who could potentially access the messages and confidential information that will likely be pouring through Google Wave by the nano second? Simply put, Google has “closet space” for each user where their private messages are not viewed by Google and protected by the security level of Google Servers. |