Do the Wave (beta)!

After watching the whole Google Wave Developer Preview video (hey, I was bored after not blogging for so long!), I have to say that there really is potential with this particular product. Even though I hated the abilities of AIM6 to permanently record entire conversations with another user, particularly those I wish I didn't have after a night out on the town, this active ongoing connection seems like it will work wonders in the business setting. However, what I like most is on display in the 5/28 entry of Google's official blog: They are asking users "what else can we do with this?"

I hope they truly expect beta applicants to try and provide an answer with this, because the beta period, or at least real beta periods unlike the neverending Gmail beta, is what makes or breaks a product. While working for a video game company that sought to recruit players to test out a beta version of one of its hit games, the beta was, at least in my opinion, largely a failure. Since the only prerequisite to apply was having an active account, the majority of applicants were just players who wanted an earlier look at the game, to try out the latest features for themselves before their friends. When the game's developers, techs, etc. sought out opinions and suggestions on the forums or by asking players in-game, the responses were pretty pathetic. Most were along the lines of "make my character overpowered" or "make this part easier so I don't feel so full of suck" and were useless to the fine-tuning stages of the development process. The first few months after the game went live were excruciating, because there were many nagging issues that had been overlooked by the fanboys who just wanted to look at content, versus screening for applicants who saw themselves as serious testers.

If Google really does want "developers to roll up their sleeves" and try their hand at Wave, I hope the majority of the beta invites go to these men and women who want to not only see the product, but attempt to improve it through their own knowledge in coding. I think the product could easily replace e-mail, a quickly dying Instant Messenger, and modify the way we communicate online in a major way, but it has to be done correctly. Why not offer a developer's beta and then a more public beta after that?