This is a Google Wave autopsy.
What was once the world’s most exciting new platform is now kaput, as in, Google has announced that development on the project has stopped. The new communication system from Google (created by the same masterminds behind Google satellite maps), which everyone thought would change the future of email and online interaction forever has not only not caught on, it’s shutting down.
Being among the three people who actually got into Wave, I feel oddly sheepish. I was so excited to have IM conversations and even documents where I could watch the other people connected to me type. I loved the idea of one-click photo sharing with Blogger. I joined Orkut, a Facebook-like site, thinking it would be the next big thing (it was linked up with Wave). Further wonders included group map editing, smarter spellcheck, translation as-you-type and awesome privacy and customization options. I thought it was the new Microsoft Office, all online, all the time.
So, let’s take a long hard look at the nuggets of wisdom we’re left with in the wake of Wave’s demise.
1. We learn differently now.
Though I’m not a huge fan of the iPad, I am a huge fan of their marketing campaign, peppered with the phrase “you already know how to use it.” That’s where Apple trumps Google: their systems and developments are so user-intuitive, you don’t have to “learn” them. I put “learn” in quotations because that’s not exactly correct. Apple’s developers are simply so brilliant that learning their products doesn’t require study or practice (except maybe typing on those little iPhone buttons). Google Wave’s developers were developing with pretty savvy consumers in mind.
2. One development at a time.
You know how nobody cares about Google Buzz? Well, had Google introduced it and watched it before further developing the Wave concept, they’d have seen that something was wrong. Google Buzz answered a question that no one was asking; something to the effect of “How can I multitask to the point of transcendent knowledge of the whereabouts and meal choices of all my friends and coworkers?” Wave wrote a book and made a TV movie about it.
3. Multitasking is a multi-level thing.
It used to be that eating a sandwich and driving was considered multitasking. Now, I write you from a computer with no fewer than 16 windows open. I’m not just browsing in ten different tabs in Firefox, but it went like this: I started reading a PDF press release, got bored halfway through and checked my email (in one of the ten open tabs), heard about Google Wave’s death, decided to search for what other people were saying about Google Wave, instant messaged with a couple developers I know, checked Seesmic at least five times during all this because it dings when I get replies (@AnnieScott), and I’ve also consumed an entire bagel and half a cup of coffee, as well as petted my cat, as I’m working from home. Multi-tasking has become a far more complex thing. Google attempted to put quite a few of those tasks together for me with Google Wave, supposedly addressing the question “what would email look like if it were invented today?” Unfortunately, their answer to that was “a total freaking mess.” It took away the power I have over my multitasking by putting it all in front of me at the same time. I wasn’t choosing to check my email or see who messaged me; it was all coming on the screen at once. I don’t want that. I want one TV and to change the channel, not nine TVs all blaring at me at the same time. I’m sure if I were really smart, or maybe if I grew up doing that, I could function in that environment, but too many notifications and communication options isn’t productive; it’s distracting.
4. Logos matter.
Check out the Google Wave logo above. What does it remind you of? That’s right, Windows. They used the exact same colors as Microsoft Windows (regrettably in the shape of a “W”), clearly trying to associate themselves with that kind of work productivity. Unfortunately, the result was not the expected unconscious association; the logo was just plain mistaken for Windows and/or regarded as not “new.” An enticing logo in exciting colors plastered all over the internet would have had everyone wondering what the fuss was all about. This logo didn’t grab attention, as it just blended into the world of things everybody already knew about. They were already bored by it.
5. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it -— and if you do, don’t make it a choice.
Email works. So does Twitter, instant messaging, Facebook and Google Docs. There’s absolutely no reason not to continue developing functionality, but if you ask people to ditch what they currently use for a newfangled thing, they inevitably end up having to choose between the things. What I mean is this: because only a few folks actually got into Google Wave, users still had to check their regular email, too, as well as messaging platforms and the rest of it, to communicate with the majority of the world. Had these new features simply been integrated into Gmail and billed as an “Upgrade,” I bet I’d be using Wave right now, and so would you.
… Unless you’re still on Hotmail or something — and if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do to help you.
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Image by Google.