As I was writing this comment, I tried to think back to the way Google claimed its relevance through domination. If we look at Wave as an application, it would be made most relevant on a “corporate” platform, but there are a few misses with the way you need a Gmail account to send an invite or login. While Gmail has become ubiquitous for “personal” uses, I can’t see there being enough elements to draw in the business crowd, especially if they have to make a case to use “social toys” in the workplace, much less register for a free email account.

The next question to ask - how does Wave and Buzz measure-up against its search and alert properties? Will the right recipe for success require a dash of an acquired property to bring relevance to GOOG-baked goods, or will it suffice for Wave to add whiteboards and desktop sharing features to usher in the throng of corporate? My hunch is not anywhere near the way its attained its search and alert dominance, and it will take more than a few features to overcome the laggard mentalities that are deeply entrenched in the privacy and security costs with freeware.

Reserving some thought to Autom’s and Biz Stone’s “mobile DNA”, and coupling that idea with the announcement of iPhone suing HTC, I can’t help wonder if Wave was just a staked claim to protect its ideas for Buzz - or for something bigger and more fitting to defend and affirm its position as search despot

Joseph
@RepuTrack

Alasdair - so glad you found this useful…one of my objectives with this post is not only to bring down the Wave experience to the everyday user but also remind people about the beta experience, that Wave is an open source product that is in constant development etc., and with that context, perhaps encourage others to give it another whirl to see its potential

Aaron - yes, there is an excess of social tools out there and betas always gets a bad rap when not well received by the average user. but per our wave just now (haha) online social tools designed with specific collaborative functionalities require more than your average controlled beta test group..so perhaps the order of the day is indeed to push out to the hyped up public and see what bugs they can find..no comment on FaceShmook (as you know I have a special place in the cold room storage– i mean in the back of my head, for that one)…the GOOG/Skynet comparison is certainly nothing new and something I find somewhat humorous at this point..location based apps to me is like deploying do-it-yourself programs that will entice an unwitting public to do all the cartographic work as they ping locations left right and center as if plotting out coordinates and confirming they match with GPS readings (and other revenue-tied MO’s i won’t even get into)..ho hum..and certainly the privacy factor is something an average, “social star struck” user wouldn’t even pause to consider as long as they manage to become mayor of a bus stop..

BUT..and we all know this..we are in the midst of the burgeoning mobile age..as Biz Stone once said “mobile has always been part of Twitter’s DNA” (or something to this effect) this was quite telling for me when I first came across that comment.. in my mind, the shift is happening so blatantly, and as the leveled, democratized approach gains full momentum we see social channels expand, access become increasingly easy and the insane drive to achieve the most ubiquitous experience realized at every conceivable scenario..but at what cost? so many other delicate, subtle elements are left unchecked (e.g.,privacy, security, etc.)

remember what they say about having too much of a good thing..and we all know who “they” are now don’t we? haha

Don’t get me wrong… I love the potential of Wave and what it will eventually evolve into with help from the developer community. However, I still don’t see Wave gaining any traction on a consumer level. Wave’s potential is as an enterprise product. GOOG should just add it to their existing list of Apps and call it a day! Example: Social CRM… Look at the time and money being invested by Salesforce.com on Chatter (great looking tool), although I am still trying to figure out why the CEO just recently compared the future of CRM to a controlled, refined version of Facebook (little scary)??? Now, I can’t say I agree with that thought process as Facebook is the definition of complete noise and social distortion… but I do however see GOOG’s Wave platform as a sweet baseline to build social CRM tools with (especially open source CRM).

Who knows…. If GOOG can overcome all the privacy issues and stop being information whores, than perhaps products like Buzz may have a chance to take-off and not crash and burn before even getting started. Personally, Skynet scares the bejesus out of me… Don’t even get me started on how location Apps like Buzz with Maps 4.0 are going to open the door to stalkers and all physcos in general… Parents will now have to warn their children to turn off the LBS (Location Based Service) feature in their phone before leaving the house! =)