You Will Be Missed Google Wave

I just found out that Google Wave is waving goodbye. Google management said:

“We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects.”

I, for one, am disappointed with this update. Yes, it’s not a perfect product. There are times when images don’t display properly, uploaded documents can’t be previewed, or the platform runs slowly. Despite its limitations, I’ve learned to overlook them because it helped me organize my work. It was easier to click on “next 1” (which automatically brings you to the latest post within a wave) and read comments within a project cycle than browse through my inbox searching for email threads — especially when the subject line changed multiple times.

I’ve read comments from Wave critics stating it was merely a combination of existing tools, which is why it failed. Perhaps it was, but when used correctly and for its intended purpose — such as project management or brainstorming — it became an excellent productivity tool.

As I say goodbye to Google Wave, I look forward to what the team offers when they merge this technology with other Google projects.

Time to research the next new shiny toy.