If you’ve been following the trending topics on the social networks, then you’re mostly likely aware of Google’s latest product innovation, Google Wave.  Google touts Wave as our next major communication tool, a revolutionary product as big as the telephone and television.  It isn’t just “the next email product,” but Google instead says they’ve re-architected email from the bottom up.

Unfortunately, the product fails to deliver.  I think they’ve only managed to fix something that wasn’t broken.  Sure – email isn’t perfect.  But what might have been nice is if the Google Wave team had bothered to discuss what business owners need in a communication tool, and build that instead.

The Caveat

People are pretty divided when it comes to Wave; either you love it or you loathe it.  But let me be frank:  this site is for small businesses.  Many of them in travel and tourism.  Many of them our clients and customers.  So, it is our duty to tell it like it is – there’s only so many hours in the day, so our clients expect us to do the digging and let them know what’s worth their time and what isn’t.  So while Wave has some promising aspects for certain markets and industries, it fails to deliver anything of true value for the small business professional.

Why Wave is Immature

Google’s software development philosophy is ‘launch early, launch often.’  And while they normally nail this model, they’ve missed the mark with wave.  Why?

The User Interface is Appalling. And that’s being nice.  From unscrollable scroll bars to clunky frames that have little flexibility in rearranging them, this doesn’t even feel like a Google product.   Google’s search engine and many of their products, like Gmail, are best in class when it comes to usability and readability.  What on earth happened?  It’s even some of the little touches, like the skull and crossbones icon next to the Spam folder, that just aren’t characteristic of Google.  Having said this:  I’d love to do a test with someone who has NEVER used email before.  It’s quite possible that a newbie to the whole thing might appreciate the relatively few options available.

It’s Slow.  After a message (called a ‘wave’) has a number of entries in it, the Wave takes ages to load.  I am using Google Chrome for my browser, but I hear that Internet Explorer and other browsers are worse.  As some of the Waves I am on testing out the product have upwards of 60-100 people on the Wave, it just doesn’t open.  For this to be a viable product, the performance issues must be solved.

No Integration with Other Google Apps. The biggest problem is the poor integration with my Google contacts; I have to sort of pop back and forth between the two in order to get things sync’ed up properly.  There’s no way to be notified of new waves to my Gmail account (Yes, I know this is supposed to replace my inbox, but come on.).  But none of the things that make Gmail nothing short of amazing, like to do list entries and easy calendar access, aren’t available in Wave.  Not a deal breaker for some, but most certainly a must-have for those of us already using those features.

Waves get Messy.  Quick.  Some of the Waves I am on look like a disaster zone – I can’t even tell what’s being discussed.  But I did a test with my software developer during one of our testing periods.  Even just the two of us had a hard time keeping the Wave organised so we could tell what had been replied to and what hasn’t.  Products like these are supposed to aid efficiency, not hinder it.

In short, Wave has come out of the oven half-baked.  I’ve tried several times to use the tool to collaborate here within Travel Online Partners – we operate a virtual model, so I’m always interested in tools that can make is more nimble and more effective.  But I struggled to find anything in Wave that other solid products on the market don’t offer.

What you can learn from Wave’s Marketing

If there is any shining success in Google Wave, it is the marketing.  It’s well done, particularly since they’ve successfully managed to overhype a product that probably didn’t need the hype to begin with, as Google has a near cult-like following of brand advocates.

At least they were honest…their launch video was 90 minutes looooong!

Sometimes you can break the rules.  If there is one major rule on the web, it is that Less is More.  I’m always telling people to tighten up their sales copy, streamline their content, and distill everything down to the core message.  Google launched Wave with a 90 minute preview video that as of this writing has had 7.8 million views.  So, sometimes you can break the rules.  But you aren’t Google, so be careful.  I think that this video (WARNING: video contains strong language and violence – NSFW) would have made a far more effective launch video, but who’s to say.

Sometimes, a good thing can go too far.  Remember when Gmail launched and we all clamoured for an invite to get an account?  It was a great way to build attention and get folk talking – after all, if you need an invite to join, it must be worth checking out, right?  Well, Gmail launched in the infancy of social media, so it was word of mouth that spread the good word.  For Wave, our Facebook and Twitter world has been bombarded with contests and gimmicks to give out their Wave invitations.  It’s gotten to become a bit of an annoyance for some, myself included; but you know it’s gone too far when spammers use the “We’ve got Google Wave invites” as a way to lure you into their porn sites and scams.  Yuck.

Want to check it out for yourself?

I really think most businesses would be better serviced by more mature and robust collaboration tools, like Basecamp.  Or even a project management tool like 5pm.

But sometimes you need to try things out for yourself – maybe you’ll have a good use for Wave, I’m not excluding the possibility.  Well, perhaps Google saw a copy of this article, because when I started writing, I had 20 wave invitations to give away.  Now I have none. (The irony is not lost – trust me.)  However, if you want an account, please leave a comment on this article and I’ll do my best to get you an invite – no gimmicks, contests, or other fanfare required.

A Better Use of Your Time…

If you’ve not got time for the fluff of Google Wave, then why not spend some time with our Do-It-Yourself guides?  They’re no hassle, no stress ways to improve your online business presence.   Hint:  They make great Christmas presents for that hard-to-shop entrepreneur!