Wave Bye Bye to Google Wave

by Jack Humphrey on Aug 4

Image representing Google Wave as depicted in ...
Image via CrunchBase

Not everything Google does is a hit.  Today Google announced that Google Wave is hitting the boneyard.  Amid radical praise and equally radical apathy, Google is pulling the plug on Wave.

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. The central parts of the code, as well as the protocols that have driven many of Wave’s innovations, like drag-and-drop and character-by-character live typing, are already available as open source, so customers and partners can continue the innovation we began. In addition, we will work on tools so that users can easily “liberate” their content from Wave. -Google Blog

Frankly, I stopped using Wave awhile ago.  I WANTED to use it.  I WANTED it to be “the” group project tool for us.  So did some others.  But my partners and me pretty quickly fell back to Basecamp and Skype.

I guess since our system wasn’t “broken” we felt weird about trying to fix it by adopting Google Wave.  Pretty glad we didn’t now, since we’d have a ton more to get out of there than we do.

Latest articles on Google Wave…

Tagged as: google wave

  • Pingback: This Week in Google 54: Wave Bye Bye | Tech the Plunge

  • http://www.webcreationuk.com/advancedseo.htm Bogdan @ SEO

    Never used it before, was interested a little in its features but it seems it was a failure. Well, next! :)

  • http://freeipadgear.com Josiah @ Free iPad Giveaway

    I literally forgot about Google wave up until this post. The Tech community really hyped this up and so did Google when they were only sending minimal invites out. Oh well, hopefully they put the software to good us somewhere else.
    .-= Josiah @ Free iPad Giveaway´s last blog ..iPad Perfect for Marketing Surveys =-.

  • http://cyberchimps.com CyberChimps

    I couldn’t wait to get my Google Wave invite, and when I finally did I just didn’t see what all the fuss was about. I never used it other then that first time, looks like I’m not the only one.
    .-= CyberChimps´s last blog ..A guide to Video Sitemaps =-.

  • http://www.natalielouise.com.au Nat @Successful Entrepreneurs

    I mean really was it EVER a wave, I thought maybe more of a ripple really. It never really took off past their relatively quiet launch, it was so subdued it was almost like they were cringing and weren’t even really sure of it at that stage! Doesnt surprise me at all that it is hitting the boneyard :-)
    I think Buzz will be next…..
    cheers
    .-= Nat @Successful Entrepreneurs´s last blog ..How To Get Started With Your GetResponse Account – A Brief Overview =-.

  • http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/ Joshua Dorkin @ Real Estate Investing Blog

    After flailing with Google Wave for a day or two, I decided that if I couldn’t figure it out, then the average Joe wasn’t going to take the time to either. It seems that my assessment was correct. The theory behind the application was good, but the implementation and UI were awful, IMO.

    RIP Google Wave
    .-= Joshua Dorkin @ Real Estate Investing Blog´s last blog ..Mobile Home Investing- Beware of Hidden Liens =-.

  • http://www.elevatedthird.com John @ Elevated Third

    As long as they continue to utilize some of the best features of wave in other applications, like Google Docs, it won’t be a total loss. I could see the value but it think it was just too much at one time.

  • http://www.googlingsocial.com Chris Lang

    I only have two words Jack (if you believe that one) and that’s GOOGLE ME

    Wave had to go to shift developer resources and outside developer resources to the coming launch of Google Me. Yes, Google is going to release a Facebook style wall. But I guarantee you it will be like no other. New Google Me predictions video being shot this weekend. Hint: Wave closes yesterday, today Google buys http://www.slide.com/ – Remember Top Friends app on Facebook?

    I know you saw this Jack, but you can’t write off Google when I get reactions to posts like this on Google Buzz. http://www.google.com/profiles/chrislang#buzz

    When was the last time any of us got 90 comments on a blog post? When was the last time you got 9 trackbacks on a blog post? I can say I NEVER have. Buzz is the place to be right now, especially for average ever day geeks like me.

    Lastly, Google Wave was mis-marketed by Google as a social networking platform. Plain and simple, Google screwed up by trying to take Wave and turn it into something it was not. More than anything the trust ratio for Google has slipped here, that is their biggest mistake.
    .-= Chris Lang´s last blog ..YouTube Now Requires Google Account Log In =-.

    • http://www.jackhumphrey.com/ Jack Humphrey

      Can’t wait to see Google Me. I can never wait to see new Google stuff, pretty much. That Fortune article I mentioned saying “”Is this the end of Google?” also mentioned the worst of the news. That Google has slipped into a “terrible” new low level of growth of 16-18%. They mention any business would kill for that kind of growth, but for Google it’s far off what they’re used to at 30-40% growth.

      If that’s the worst of the news for Google, the company as a whole, then they’re what Fortune calls a mere “cash cow” instead of juggernaut. Poor Google huh?

  • http://www.googlingsocial.com Chris Lang

    Warren Whitlock just reminded me that Wave lives on as Novell Pulse.

    http://www.novell.com/products/pulse/

    Also there is a mobile version being hosted and another open to all for, Wave version.

    Wave is far from dead, the API remains open and the developer’s Google Group for the Wave API is open and being supported. Wave is far from dead Jack, just not being hosted at Google any more.

    I was just interviewed on Motivational Radio this week. We worked up the questions and the outline between Anthony Hoskins, his team and myself. We were able to chat in real time, comment for others on their return and the whole thing worked like magic.
    .-= Chris Lang´s last blog ..YouTube Now Requires Google Account Log In =-.

  • http://www.googlingsocial.com Chris Lang

    Jack, another important thing for Google is Android phones. Eric Schmidt says 200,000 are being sold worldwide each day.

    That means 200,000 new Google logins are being created each DAY.

    That’s 80,000,000 a year. Not just any account, but a real, active, constantly used account.

    If Google’s growth is down, it’s because they are hitting mass consumption.
    .-= Chris Lang´s last blog ..Google Dumps Google Buzz =-.

  • http://keklapisborong.blogspot.com/ abgajoy @kek lapis sarawak

    I guess the main factor that make this tool face the failure because lack of exposure. Honestly I just knew about this tool in this article and never heard of this before. I’m currently using Yahoo Messenger and Skype =)

    regards

  • http://socialmarketingblackbox.com Dave the social marketing software guy

    It’s interesting that you had the same experience we did. We simply use skype and google docs for project management, and when Wave came along we started using it… for about a week! Then it just quietly disappeared…

    Too bad.

  • http://leiacostume.com Lana @ leia costume

    Very few actually needed the service to go about their daily lives.
    Wave merely collated all services that internet users can do online using other more popular sites and made them a tad harder to get into or perform. Even if you open Gmail, Facebook and Twitter and work on them all the same time, I believe the experience would still be leaps and bounds better than actually opening Wave, waiting for the apps to load, only to find noone there.
    .-= Lana @ leia costume´s last blog ..Adult Toy Story Costume =-.

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