Google Wave

I’ve been thinking about Google Wave since it was announced earlier in the week at Google I/O. It looks brilliant and impressive as technical accomplishment. But I don’t understand what it is. It seems not just technically complex but also conceptually complex.

Communication systems that succeed are usually conceptually simple: the telegraph, the telephone, fax, email, IM, Twitter. So color me skeptical regarding Wave’s prospects.

See also: Buzz Andersen’s take.

Update: Facebook is a good counter-example of a conceptually complex communication system that is very popular. My pessimism/skepticism regarding Wave is probably biased by my own strong preference for conceptual simplicity; I have not and don’t intend to sign up for Facebook.

★ Saturday, 30 May 2009