Communication and Collaboration in Real Time

So, you may be thinking based on the title that this is nothing new. We already have the capability through instant message and collaboration tools such as Google Docs so what else could this be about? Well the new part to this post is about Google Wave is currently only available on an invitation only basis. You can receive an invitation from someone already on Google Wave or you can request an invitation from Google.


What exactly is Google Wave?
Google Wave is simply a tool for online communication and collaboration. You could think of it as combining instant messaging and Google Docs together into one tool...and it's better than that. The collaboration part of Google Wave offers much more than is available in Google Docs.

How does it work?
Google Wave operates through what is called a wave. A wave is a means of both communication and collaboration. Users on a wave can discuss and work together in real time through the use of rich text, photos, videos, maps and many more. The wave is both shared and live. What this means is that as soon as someone makes a comment in within a wave, any of the other users in the wave can see the comment right away. Although the wave does allow for real time collaboration, it does not require that a user be online at the same time as other users to be able to participate. When you are offline the updates made to the wave are saved and you will see them next time you log in, just like you haven't missed a thing!

Some possible uses for Google Wave could be, organizing events, group projects, brainstorming, or even games. The possibilities could be endless with Google Wave!