Goodbye Google Wave. I hardly understood you.
So Google Wave is getting the ax (sort of). This may have been the most hyped Google release in ages, even though so few people knew what the heck it was they were clamoring for a coveted invite for.
Why did it fail? It was confusing. People didn’t instantly get it.
It’s a lesson web application developers need to learn. Over the years I’ve seen new applications come out that were simplistic versions of more robust solutions and do quite well because they were easier to use. Look at most apps on iPhone and Android — they need to be simple enough that people can use them the moment they pick them up.
I know this lesson because I’ve developed applications in the past that have failed because they were confusing. Too many features. Couldn’t grasp it easily.
This was a guiding principle when creating DNW Certified Stats — I wanted something that people could use in 60 seconds and understand instantly. Heck, there’s not even a users’ manual.
Of course the trick is to avoid adding on too many features to the point of complexity, too. That was one of Bido’s problems. It started as a good, simple solution that later became too bloated.
Bye Wave – looked at it once and laughed. My idea is better and will benefit charities. We just need Google to get in touch so I can explain it to them.
Video here-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lAN0jlQPFE
Google Wave had some really neat features. The real time collaboration and the real time translation features were (and still are) state of the art.
I agree, they tried to mix email with instant messaging with documents… Too much going on. Some core features will be back in other products though.
Actually it was an experiment, and they learned a lot from it. Some of the features in wave will be integrated in to gmail, a very succesful service.
Just because that particular project ended, does not mean valuebal data wasn’t collected.
However… Google did over-hype it, and I agree it was way to complex for the average user.
I kind of feel bad for the folks who invested in wave domains, I remember seeing a few threads in the wanted forums. I’m glad I sold dnwave.com when I had the chance 😀
It’s a real shame. The real-time multi-user apps supported by wave have a great future. We have a Google Wave travel-planner called “Travel WithMe”,
and people love the real-time experience.
Sensing that wave might not be going places, we’ve put it on facebook now as well, but still with Google Wave’s realtime features. It’s at apps.facebook.com/travel-withme.