I previously mentioned Google Wave in passing as a suggestion for social media tools for bloggers. Today, let’s look into why it’s a great tool. Yep, it’s not just a good tool; it’s a great tool. Even in its early stages, Google Wave is obviously the next biggest thing that will soon engulf the entire universe that’s built around the internet. And this isn’t an exaggeration. Even a regular blogger like me who knows nothing of geeky stuff like APIs and codes (English, please!), is totally impressed with what Google Wave allows everyone to do. If you’ve got the time – like about an hour and a half worth of time – I suggest watching this demo video.
Because I was really impressed with this presentation, I thought to share with you top five reasons why I think Google Wave is a great tool. Here goes my list:
1. It’s real time. It’s amazing how the words ‘real time’ take on a new meaning with Google Wave. If you thought emails and IMs were real time, think again! There’s a few second delay in transmission using those media. All you see on your screen while typing back a message on Google Talk, for example, is a cute notification line that the person you’re chatting with is typing back a message. What they’ve typed in only appears on your screen after they’ve hit the return key. With Google Wave, you see what they’re typing character for character, right on your screen.
2. It’s easy to use. If you want to add new people to a conversation, share videos, photos, etc., all you have to do is drag and drop their names, your photos or videos on to an open wave and voila, everyone’s privy to the whole conversation. This drag-and-drop feature is probably one of the coolest things with Google Wave.
3. It’s a fantastic tool for collaborating. You can launch group challenges and team contests on your blog anytime you feel like taking your interactive mode a notch higher. Thanks to Google Wave, your readers from the U.S. can team up with those in Europe, Asia, Africa or Australia – practically anywhere in the world – and participate in your contests as a truly heterogeneous team. Not only is this fun, but you are helping to smash down the walls racism builds around us. It’s also a great opportunity for everyone, yourself included, to learn about other people’s culture.
4. It’s a synching tool. Whatever you want to do or share with your blog community – photos, chats, maps, videos, spreadsheets, documents, presentations, projects – you can do it in one easy location. You no longer need to sign up, log in and maintain separate accounts for email/chats, video and photo sharing, document sharing and all other things you are currently doing online. It’s all possible to keep these things under one roof.
5. It simplifies your online life. Whether you’re sharing intimate, personal stuff with close family and friends or building your professional blogging network, you can safely and securely manage all contacts, communications and files on Google Wave. You have total control over who sees what or who has access to what. It’s real-time accessibility via mobile devices makes Google Wave easy to take with you anywhere you go.
As you watch Google’s demo and try it yourself, you’ll certainly find even more reasons why you’d agree it’s a great tool. We’ll talk about some of Google Wave’s excellent features next time.
