Will Google Wave Replace Twitter?

09/27/2009 | By Diana Adams

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading ...

Before I weigh in on the answer to the question “Will Google Wave replace Twitter,” I want to explain to you the best I can what the heck Google Wave is. Imagine a revolutionary website that combines chat, email, file sharing and blogging into a single window.

A Google Wave uses the metaphor of a “conversation” that can be kept private between it’s participants or made public for all to see. The two brothers who wrote Google Maps are about to change they way we use the internet again with their latest creation – Google Wave.

I think my favorite aspect of waves is that they are live. They unfold in real time as they develop. Imagine ten people updating a wave at once. All contributors additions to the wave stream into it simultaneously – yes, that means if you misspell something everyone logged on to the wave can see it as it is happening. Even cooler, at any point you can publish a wave as a blog with a single click of a publish to the web button.

The real power of the Wave will be most noticeable to mobile users. Having easy access to an interactive email on the go will be extremely powerful. I think the elegance of the Wave may cause people to abandon regular email in droves.

Do you know anyone who uses an antique typewriter to compose documents today? Of course not, it is ancient inflexible technology. Soon we may be saying, “Can you believe she still uses Exchange for email?”

Ok, will Google Wave replace Twitter? I say no, for one very good reason – Gadgets. Gadgets like iPhone apps will allow us to run our favorite programs inside our waves. Because gadgets are open source we will see tons of plug in programs that work with Google Wave. I plan to be running my Twitter gadget inside my google wave window (have your cake and eat it to).

So, I think Twitter will be around a while longer, but old fashioned email may be gone before you know it. Don’t be left out. Google Wave Public Beta launches on September 30, 2009. Only 100,000 accounts will be issued, so make a point to get one – wave.google.com.

Author: Diana Adams

By day, Diana is the CEO/owner of Adams Consulting Group, Inc, a technology services and business solutions consultancy firm serving the specific needs of its clients in advertising and public relations. By night, she lives and breathes by writing. After publishing a small cookbook last year, she is now working on her new masterpiece, scheduled for publishing next year. “I could write all night long and not get tired of it. I think that is when you know you’ve tapped into a true passion. Whatever that thing may be, if you could do it all day or night long, lose track of time, ‘wake up’ ten hours later, and still thirst for more, that is a passion, and I feel like I’ve found that in my writing.” Diana also spends many hours each week assisting the homeless men and women in Atlanta. You can find her on Twitter at @adamsconsulting.

33 Comments

Will Google Wave Replace Twitter? « Bit Rebels

September 27th, 2009

[...] the whole story here: Diana Adams aggregated by [...]

featureBlend

Web technology has been built up and extended through the years. Wave is a little different as google is using in a new protocol XMPP which allows the real time stuff that goes on. i.e like having others in ur group see ur emails and pics immediately.

What i liked was their approach to using the browser which is everyone’s (laymen) gateway to the web. We’ll have to see how peeps respond to it. Its a great look into the future and for me google engineers work charms with making their apps simple, powerful easy to use but most importantly making it easier for us to communicate.

Thats what innovation is all about helping solve common problems. Will be very interesting to watch this evolve, hope i get my confirmation soon too. Certainly wouldn’t call it a twitter killer just yet!

[Reply]

mlomb

Great article, Diana! I love your take that Google Wave is more likely to replace email than it is to replace Twitter. One problem Google faces in dethroning the current champion is the sheer adoption rate. Also, the Google name does not guarantee success. Remember Google Lively? On a counter argument, if someone has the ability to incorporate the key elements that make twitter so successful, with sufficient backing, Twitter may be in trouble… not saying that’s likely to happen.

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:25 am

What I like about Gwave over Twitter is my conversations are organized into threads. If Twitter would implement this it would be way more useful. You are also very right that the Google name does not guarantee success. But Google has been building Gwave for 3 years now, it totally bypassed Google Labs and went straight to pre beta.

Also Google just bought EitherPad and their app AppJet, another collaboration platform and rolled all their developers into Google Wave’s Gwave team.

Expect some major upgrades as AppJet closes their doors in March 2010 I believe.

Chris Lang

September 28th, 2009

You are very right Diana, Gwave will not replace Twitter, it will make it better and more useful.

You have probably noticed that Gwave organizes Tweets into conversations rather than unassociated lines of text. That alone will save us time and make you more money.

When you send a Tweet, it is lost in the noise of Twitter. When you send a Tweet in Gwave you get each new reply in the order they occurred associated with the conversation that you started.

Priceless! I can’t wait for my invite from Google on Wednesday. If you are a beta dev tester you get first dibs on the new public release Sept. 30th, or so Google tells me. We shall see, see ya on the Gwave…

sami

September 29th, 2009

Just one comment, i think the problem will not be if it will replace it or not, but is the current bandwidth ready for it ?

Dienstag, 29.09.09 – Web Tweets | abtwittern

[...] HannsKronenberg: Interessant zu lesen: Will Google Wave Replace Twitter? –LINK– [...]

Will Google Wave Replace Twitter? « Bit Rebels « iTag.in

[...] reading here: Will Google Wave Replace Twitter? « Bit Rebels Share and [...]

Seth Etter

I think Wave is going to be huge, one way or another. Twitter does serve it’s purpose, and Wave seems to go beyond what Twitter does. But still without replacing Twitter’s use.

Either way, I’m stoked for this. I hope I get that beta account!

Cameron Olivier

September 30th, 2009

I can’t wait to give it a go! wow! I’m really amped! Another way not to get any work done though hahaha

Yoosuf

October 1st, 2009

i wanna use out the Gwave, seems its like AIO solution for Sosial networking

Ehab Moniem

I’m glad someone referred me to your article. I had no idea this was even being developed and now that I know, its too late to get it. Unless… someone has an extra invite . Thanks for the 411 on the wave! I feel up to date.

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:46 am

We have hundreds of Gwave intites to give out. Just shout me from my blog and we will get you and anyone else that wants a Gwave invite hooked up. Just click my avatar above to get to my blog.

don Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 4:51 pm

hook me up with one donkingkongga@gmail.com

Will Google Wave replace Twitter? - Google Wave Invites

[...] Will Google Wave replace Twitter? Should investors over at Twitter be worried? Do you think Google Wave will replace Twitter as the favorite real-time communications channel? This article talks about it: Will Google Wave Replace Twitter? Bit Rebels [...]

technovisionary

October 3rd, 2009

No, because twitter is publicly indexedable, making it much more viral. Wave will not let you grow your network in the same fashion.

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:41 am

Try creating a public Wave. It is certainly indexable and you can search for them directly in Gwave.

Just open a new Wave and add public@a.gwave.com to the new Wave. Then you can tag the Wave with keywords. You can even geo target a Wave by entering city, state and country in the tags.

To search for a public wave discussing topics you are interested in use the search box at the top of your Gwave inbox and search with:public and your keywords. That finds Waves with the public robot in them and keywords you define.

It will return every public wave with the keywords you are searching.

The reason all Waves are not indexable is Wave for the most part are private. Also we believe it is only a matter of time before public waves show up in Google searches just like Facebook sharing and Tweets do.

Also remember Gwave has only been public for the last 3 months, since September 30th. If anyone needs a Gwave invite we have a few hundred to give away from my blog.

What is Google Wave? Is it Better than Email? | Programming Blog

October 10th, 2009

[...] what Google Wave is and answer the question, Is it Better than Email? Diana discussed the last time Will Google Wave Replace Twitter? What is Google Wave? Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and [...]

Pablo Herranz

October 26th, 2009

Can we use the twitter gadget in wave at the moment? I have a wave account but I can see this gadget and in the other hand I have no contacts to test it.

thinksketchdesign

October 28th, 2009

I don’t think it’s so much a question of Google Wave replacing Twitter as we know it today. Rather, I think that Google Wave will grow to be a huge part of the internet’s infrastructure, while I don’t think Twitter has the same potential. Twitter will be good for twittering, while facebook and google will power social communication everywhere else.

http://www.thinksketchdesign.com/2009/10/27/web/in-twitters-wake-head-scratching-persists-a-real-time-network-revolution-bides-its-time

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:44 am

I agree with you completely. The only reason Twitter has grown in traffic so much was the CNN race with Ashton Kutcher to the first account with 1 million followers.

It was CNN’s reference to follow them on Twitter every 5 minutes (still) back then that brought Facebook and Twitter to mass consumption.

Only a matter of time till Gwave gains the same prominence.

Doubledown Tandino

January 3rd, 2010

Google Wave (hopefully) will replace Email, and PHP forum message boards…

but it won’t replace Twitter, or any other public “outcry” status update platform.

….besides… google wave doesn’t even work properly.

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:52 am

Gwave works just fine, try using a modern browser like Chrome. Also let’s look at the history of social apps that don’t work properly.

Twitter goes down once a month, has been hacked twice and has a long history of poor coding and performance.

Facebook? Same thing, currently fighting off malicious apps that take over your account and was even blocked as a phishing site last year. Just Google that one, I broke the story to TechCrunch.

Let me know when a pre beta app works as well as Gwave when it is only 3 months old and only released in pre beta to a million users.

Twitter could not stay up for a week even when it was already two years old. There was a time when Scoble tweeted to his 33K in followers Twitter would crash. I would say Gwave is doing very well for a 3 month old application.

Joe Pritchard

I’ve recently been using Google Wave to assist in Project Management and to be honest I believe it to be a solution for a problem set that doesn’t exist outside the Digerati who just love new toys!

Whilst allowing for the fact that it’s Beta, the software is not always intuitive, doesn’t always work as it should and Google seem unhelpful. The policy that Google have taken in effectively blocking Internet Explorer users from using Wave without a Chrome Add-in just seems churlish – there is no technical reason why IE couldn’t be supported – and given that IE is still the most widely used browser outside media / technology companies (i.e., the real world) I doubt very much that Google Wave will take off outside niche markets.

I doubt that it will prove to be a ‘killer’ of any application.

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:26 am

It is not that Google does not support IE, it is that IE does not run modern code. Google does not block anything, it is that Internet Explorer and Microsoft build applications that do not support modern browsing code and hence do not work.

Microsoft does this to maintain market share. They have been doing this kind of BS for 15 years. Just look around, you can find tons of programmers that have been ripped off by MS and plenty of lawsuits to support their claims.

I still use Windows 2000. Due to the fact I can’t update W2K to any higher IE version than IE6 the browser is now obsolete and unusable not just on Gwave, but on Digg, Facebook, and any other site that uses AJAX JavaScript highly.

Also to set the record straight, it is Microsoft that intentionally breaks Google apps so we can’t use them as the problem. Google Friend Connect did not work in IE for a time until Google wrote code just to support it.

Gotta kinda wonder what Microsoft is thinking these day. To me it sounds like desperation….

Do yourself a favor and ditch IE for Opera, FireFox or better yet Chrome.

So, tell me why Google should write a unique version of Google Wave (this one took 3 years) just so you can use it in IE? If every other browser including the one on iPhones can run Gwave, then it is not Google, it is Microsoft.

Take your complaints to Microsoft. Call them. Enjoy talking to somebody in India? Oh, but wait a minute, they can’t use Wave either because every Microsoft employee is locked down to using IE6.

Diana Adams Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:52 am

Chris,

I’m learning a lot from your comments today. Thanks.

Diana

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:59 am

Thanks Diana, I appreciate your good words and Happy New Year.

Also I just posted links to the new Google Wave Notifier, check it out, I love the thing. Don’t want to spam your comments here with links but since you are around today you may want to link to the Notifier on SourceForge. It even plays a sound when you have a new Wave and yes, you can turn it off.

@Chris Lang

Yes, I’m aware of all the limitations of IE. I’m a professional developer and am aware of the problems, but I honestly don’t believe that a version of Wave couldn’t have been developed that would work with IE.

After all – if I was Google I’d be keen to do that and increase my user base unless I was using Wave as a means of getting market share for Chrome.

FWIW – I use Opera, IE, Firefox and Safari and write sites that need to run on them all. I also have real-life clients – multi-million pound companies, UK public sector and blue chips – who are stuck with IE. One of my clients in the manufacturing sector has a web site that receives 30% of it’s visits from people still running IE6.

In the non-technology, non-media world, people will not change their browsers just to run Google Wave; it isn’t a big enough application.

I don’t want to get in to a Microsoft vs Standards debate – we all know the answer. But many businesses are pragmatic and will only change browsers when they have to. And Wave isn’t a reason to do so.

Chris Lang Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:18 am

I wholehearted agree with you Joe, it is ridiculous to change browsers for any app.

But I did. My IE6 was hacked to the max and ran fast as any browser. I used a little app called TCP Optimizer. Then I started using sites like Digg and Facebook two years ago. I had to switch to FireFox on my W2K install to use those sites. And I think FireFox is a piece of junk and I have tons of problems with it on W2K.

With that said I can say the same as you (I am agreeing with you again) about an OS. To run modern software like Chrome, and tons of other apps Google and many others expect me to change my OS. Complete BS in my book.

Now that Chrome runs RoboForm I am moving over to Chrome full time and running Ubuntu (a linux build for you non techies like Joe and I).

You are also right that IE6 still has a huge following, especially on the corporate and state government side that still run 1000s of W2K work stations. I still see about 20% usage of IE6 in my server logs on my 7 sites. That is why I don’t run AJAX plugins on my blogs, I want them to be accessible to any browser. I still write HTML by hand for that reason and have for the 10 years I have made my living online.

But the Internet is changing. Gwave is also meant to be an example of what is possible in the browser rather than embedded software.

As far as Google and Microsoft go, they are finally going to butt heads for domination of the browser. Microsoft is not going to support Google apps and Google is not going to recode Gwave to support a browser that maliciously breaks online applications. IE7 breaks Google maps at my local Internet cafe here in Phoenix. LOL

With the release of the Google Chrome OS maybe late next year we are going to see MS and the big G go head to head. Will the Google browser OS bring MS to their knees? No. But it will bring more bleeding edge web apps to the average user on NetBooks.

Good conversation Joe, we may not agree on everything but I am glad to discuss this with a pro. Hope to hear back from you here and I am Tweeting and Facebooking this all day so maybe we will here from some more know it alls like me….

Joe Pritchard Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:54 am

It is a pain in the rear to have to keep maintaining stuff to work with IE6 – a nightmare. The client with the 30% of IE6 users is currently developing a web application which will require a fair amount of AJAX style functionality and we’re not looking forward to the challenge!

I’ve had more problems with IE8 than IE7 on Google Maps, I have to say, and usually find that most of the issues are trivial.

BTW – my issues with Wave have been with Firefox and, funnily enough, Chrome – most peculiar!

I probably come from a more ‘grunt’ background than many people involved in Web Development – I’ve been a professional sofwtare engineer for 26 years and few of my clients are media / tech companies – and still try and adhere to the dictum that we’re there to provide business solutions that add real value to the company. Unfortunately I think taht folks like Google and Microsoft forget that on occasion!

Good to chat!

Fumuri Online » Blog Archive » Google Wave va inlocui Twitter?

January 4th, 2010

[...] Sursa : Bit Rebels [...]

don

January 7th, 2010

can i have a invite donkingkongga@gmail.com

January 8th, 2010

@Don, just sent you an invite.

Will Google Wave Replace Twitter?

More Articles By Diana Adams

Author: Diana Adams

33 Comments

Leave a Reply

Links

About Us

Sponsor Buttons

Will Google Wave Replace Twitter?

More Articles By Diana Adams

Author: Diana Adams

33 Comments

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Links

About Us

Sponsor Buttons