Much Ado about Google Wave

We saw a preview of Google Wave a couple months back and we got excited. Now that a limited release has been going around (via invites), Wave users start trickling in. But after some time in front of the Google Wave screen, it feels like all the excitement has fizzled.

google wave

Well, this is supposed to be a new way to communicate with people but if you’re the only one among friends who has a Google Wave account then there’s nobody to communicate with. You’d eventually end up leaving the window and forget about it. So unless Google puts Mafia Wars and Farmville inside Google Wave, I don’t think I’ll be spending more than 10 seconds with it (*jk*).

Second, the moment I saw the Spam Folder, I realized Google Wave isn’t moving far away from email. The biggest problem with email since time-immemorial is spam. If the Wave still has that, then we still have a problem.

Lastly, the Google Wave Panel reminds me of Outlook Express. Can they get some cool designer in the team and make it look snazzy?

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

24 Comments

Rene says:

15 years ago

I am desperate for a google wave account – will you consider loaning me yours for maybe 1 week? After you clean it out of course! Maybe you can attach it to a different dummy email, for greater security on your part…
Sorry if this seems rude!
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Jerome G. says:

15 years ago

You need to have lots of people in your contact list to make it useful.
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William says:

15 years ago

i just think google wave is a “pimped” gmail + thunderbird
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Jhay says:

15 years ago

When more people get their Google Wave accounts, that’s when the fun would really begin.

I’m still hopeful this will live up to its name and hype.
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Andre Marcelo-Tanner says:

15 years ago

i still dont get the point, email is point to point conversation, its a basic form, you can access it from a really old pc, mobile phones, pdas, anything, anywhere.

this seems like rich chat or twitter…
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Kristine says:

15 years ago

And I wondered why I never got an invite. Hmm.
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rye says:

15 years ago

hi abe, would it be possible to send me an invite? thank you!
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Boffill says:

15 years ago

I’m still waiting for some lucky invites and haven’t used Google Wave yet. But I’ve seen lots of pictures over the internet. Its more like an email account and yeah, william is right, its like a pimped gmail and thunderbird. Maybe they could modify the interface so that it can be more pleasing to the eyes of their users.
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Erin says:

15 years ago

@Boffill: wait for it to go mainstream and a greasemonkey CSS script would be available very quickly to tweak the presentation. :)

ciao!
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Rome says:

15 years ago

i want a Wave invite too! Ganyan lang talaga sa simula.. Di ba nung bago lang ang Facebook at iilan lang gumagamit, parang nagsa-shoutout sila ng walang dahilan kasi konti lang gumagamit at wala pang masyadong friends na nakakakita ng status?? Sino may wave invite, send nyu naman ako oh.
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Reel Advice says:

15 years ago

Yeah, I was really wanting a Google Wave invite myself! Lucky you and you got one.

Maybe if the Beta hits and more people use it, Wave will be much more fun.

As for it having Spam, I always saw Wave as a Email2.0 They never really said that this is not email. Heck, they even showed that you could use it as a regular email client. I just wish they integrate Wave with Gmail. Now that would be cool!
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Cheftonio says:

15 years ago

so what’s special with this? there has been too much similar sites proliferating around similar to the objective of this.

tumblr, yahoo meme, etc
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aldrin says:

15 years ago

Google should have sent invites per group of people knowing each other…
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marhgil says:

15 years ago

i also have google wave. and i agree with you. no contacts, no fun. :(
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rye says:

15 years ago

@marhgil, penge naman invite…. hehe
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mark says:

15 years ago

invite me please icyliciousblue@gmail… many thanks!
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parenghilton says:

15 years ago

ako rin may GOOGLE WAVE kaso wala naman akong contacts… sana pwede na mag invite kahit mga hanggang 5 lang.,,,
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Patrick says:

15 years ago

Yeah, much ado about nothing. I’ve had my account for a couple of weeks now and I only go there when I read about Wave on twitter. I don’t really know what use I could have for this right now. At least there’s the public wave for Pinoys… hehe! I still have a few invites left but I plan to use them wisely by inviting only the people I know or those who I would like to “wave” with. I think that’s the problem right now. The accounts are scattered amongst different people who don’t really know each other.
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Jan Alvin says:

15 years ago

I got my invitation form Google Wave, but unfortunately there is a lot to improve with the system in my opinion.

I also did a review of it in my blog.
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FarmVille Guide says:

15 years ago

Thanks for this post. Farmville is just awesome
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Alunsina Nunez says:

15 years ago

just got mine and don’t really know what to do with it.
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jonharules says:

15 years ago

It’s a proof of Google’s being always overrated. Google has great vision and products but they often fail to focus on little details that makes the users experience and satisfaction limited and most of the time spoiled. I was simply amazed at how the Twitter trend, “Google Wave” has stayed there for several days. I hate the scroll bar but I don’t know, I can see very huge potential of it when you have vast contacts and often share bulky files.
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rye says:

15 years ago

Please remember that the Google Wave is still on the testing stage.

For those who can’t wave enough due to lack of contacts, you can try to join public waves if you want to share your ideas. There’s a lot.
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