WAVE HELLO
Once you have created a "thing" that then becomes a recognized verb it's hard to create the next thing that becomes a verb as well. Google is a "thing" that became a verb and of course we have all said even when using other search engines ) "why don't you just "google" it."
Now the guys who successfully created a new verb have something new coming around and I'm sure most of my fellow geek-o-philes have heard about it. I't's called "Wave" a name I hate so much that I hope it's only a working title. Although I'm not too psyched about the moniker I am about what this thing can do.
Google is really spearheading software via IP. They believe that one day your computer may carry no filles at all and that you will access all of your files in the air. That applications like Gmail which is a mail client that you access over the internet versus locally on your desktop like "Outlook" or for Mac's "Mail."
From what I know this "Wave" thing is like Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Talk, all rolled seamlessly into one. The idea is to take all of your core tools you use to communicate and made them work together. I have watch demo after demo and although I am excited... I am concerned.
As a developer I know how when really smart guys start talking to each other, we come up with ideas that only 5% of the population understands. It's like when our really smart president starts talking about complicated subjects that make most of the population eyes glaze over, people start thinking he is going to create death panels. I completely get what they are trying to do but will people get it? I mean "get it" enough to change how they email, instant message and find destinations in time to make a part of their life.
Lets go back in time. [I love telling this story] There was Yahoo which everyone used (even though I liked Alta Vista.) and out of no where along came this one page search engine which was this big bright white page, wacky rainbow logo and a search field plus button. I saw this thing called "Google" for the first time and I in all my brilliance said "Why," Yahoo has the best commercials. This will never work.
Well... as i have be proven time and time again... simplicity works. While we at pLot were creating all these crazy applications that did all of these cool features someone created Twitter. It's so easy even my 72 year old granny can use it. That was what was so smart about Twitter. Simplicity. Can Google do it again with Wave... maybe... but it sounds complicated to me.
Sometimes being able to build anything like we can at pLot blurs your vision. We learned that here the hard way. Google really can build anything. And I mean anything. They steal all the best developers but the problem is sometimes when delegating from a mighty tower the people begin to look like ants that you can sheppard into any new ant farm. But the people aren't ants and some people have a harder time adapting to living conditions on ant farms than most.
Will Wave be the next big thing? Well from the hour and twenty minute video I watched it sounds like it. But will Britney Spears and fans and America's next top model watchers use it ???? They won't if it's harder to understand than why Tuna is called Chicken of the Sea.