Recently Google decided to pull their Wave platform, not even a year after they officially launched it. Google cited a lack of demand for the product, even though this time last year people were selling wave invites for hundreds on eBay. They obviously didn't realise that the product would be a niche market at first for project managers, virtual assistants, and others who need to collaborate in real time across borders, and that it would take a while for others to catch on. Three things Google should have done instead are: 1. Integrating it fully with Gmail so you don't need to have two browser tabs open all the time 2. Integrate it more with Google Docs. 3. Allow Google Apps users to be able to use Wave without having to set up a separate Gmail account. But kill the whole project? I think that's a bit harsh. What do you think?
I vote yes.. they shouldn't cancel wave coz' i see big potential of it.. they can just incorporate it on google talk..
I remember when Microsoft was the 10,000lb gorilla in the room. Back then, they couldn't be touched. They'd rule the computing roost for all time. Right now, it looks like Google can't be touched.
May be Google will continue working on "Wave" and launch it with a different name with improved features and better introspection. Knowing Google as a company, I don't think they'll step backwards...
That should be fine to take Wave off but surely they got lots of experience and learning from it, and it would be better if some of their social networking applications like buzz, friend-connect, wave and so on will be integrated into just one application...
Well they cant dominate in everything they start, some tools are bound to fail. Maybe they come up with a better improved version of it in future.
Oh! We're at 50/50 now! I've just posted something about this on my blog actually. I believe that, one way or another, Google Wave will be back, maybe not with the same name, (perhaps not even from Google) but certainly I believe they were way ahead of their time on this one and that we'll be looking back on Google Wave in years to come in the same way we look back on that first email we sent, that first instant messenger we ever used or that first cellphone we ever had. For me that was Hotmail and IRC and my first cellphone was a huge, clunking monochromatic, monophonic beast, at least by today's standards. Even if you're only 12 its pretty likely the first cellphone you ever had was a polyphonic .5 megapixel camera phone with a 10 minute battery life. Not much of an improvement. You look back on those early WAP cellphones and PDAs and you laugh now, but they were part of the evolution. Sometimes companies know they're onto an idea and they stick with it no matter how many people laugh at them. Apple weren't exactly taken seriously during the 90s and products like the Newton and Palm Pilot didn't help. But they kept at it and now they're making billions selling iPhones and iPads. I wonder if this is a similar situation? One where Google killed the Wave brand but the idea lives on?