Google Wave was introduced on September 30, 2009 and is coming ashore on a computer near you.  Many of you may already have heard of Google Wave and some may be using it.  What is it?  Abbey Klaassen in the October 5, 2009 issue of Advertising Age described it as a combination of email, instant messaging, and wiki.  Google Wave’s signature feature is that it allows collaborative authoring and editing in real time.  In June, 2009, technology author Will Kelly wrote that Google Wave will change how technical documentation is handled and it will challenge programs like SharePoint which facilitate collaboration that is asynchronous, rather than synchronous.

Readers can find a good introduction to Google Wave on YouTube.  The 80-minute video is hosted by managers from the Google Wave development team.  The team members lead off by typing and editing each other’s text while we watch it happen.  A playback feature allows any contributing writer to review what has been typed and comment on it or edit it.  Contributors can also drag photos and videos from their files and drop them into the Google Wave conversation, complete with captions and tags.  Similarly, completed documents and projects can be stored in folders and tagged.  An online guide to many of Google Wave’s features is available via Mashable.

Google Wave has a variety of applications and gadgets.  Blogged text can be linked so that it displays on Google Wave and on the blog at the same time. Tweets can be handled the same way.  Google Wave can be used on an I-Phone but accessibility will vary, depending upon the type and strength of the phone connection.  Google Wave includes spell check, a function amply covered in the video demonstration.  Authors can also grab a link and Google Wave will display the URL and an image of the site’s front page. 

Anyone gathering feedback or working to set up an event will use Google Wave’s polling feature.  Instead of getting a lot of responses that have to be collected and tallied, Google Wave gathers all of the responses and displays the results.  There are also Wave applications that handle such tasks as teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and multiplayer gaming.  Google Wave will even translate; it includes a translating robot that is programmed to work with 27 languages.

Google Wave is open source and is being rolled out over the next several months.  Interested users can fill out a brief online form, asking to be placed on the invitation list as the rollout continues.  It’s an interesting marketing strategy in anticipation of the full launch in 2010.  Google encourages software developers to suggest improvements and create applications for Google Wave.  Developers can get guidance at the Google Wave Federation Protocol.  Not surprisingly, Google staff have said that they will probably set up a Wave apps store and establish revenue sharing arrangements with developers.

Comments by current users suggest that the Wave can be introduced gradually into workflow.  Writers can use one project or a few documents as a trial run.  Will Kelly reports that some of his clients have already collaborated in documents meant for them.  When this starts to happen on a big scale, Google will know it has created a formidable tool.