I was one of those lucky people given early admission to Google Wave. There was only one problem. Once we had Google Wave, we couldn’t figure out what to do with it. And if we, a bunch of techno-geeks and technology journalists, couldn’t come up with a good use for Wave, what chance did anyone else have? So it came as no surprise when I learned today that Google is pulling the plug on Wave.
I never met anyone who found a real use for Wave. They instead found IM (instant messaging), wikis, Google Docs, Lotus Notes, or, heck, good old-fashioned e-mail lists do a better job at helping them work in groups.
It’s been months since I’ve used Google Wave, so I’m not going to miss it — is anyone? But I wonder why some ideas that sound good, like Wave, fail, while others that sound silly, like Twitter, take off.