| 28 September 2009
When Google Wave was presented at the Google I/O 2009 earlier this year, the feedback of the blogosphere was incredibly positive. The basic idea of Google Wave is to renew online communication. Because the concept of Emails is already 50 years old, it's time for a renewal. Google Wave therefore combines Email, Chatting, collaborative and simultaneous editing (comparable to a Wiki) in one single tool. But not enough, Google Wave is also a protocol and it's (Google style) completely open, which means that Google Wave can be used on Google servers - but also installed on your companies server. And because Google Wave is expandable through APIs and other plug-ins, it's really a role model for Open Innovation.
But today's question is not only how Google Wave uses Open Innovation, but what Google Wave can do for Open Innovation in your company.
Open Innovation is about communication
Although some innovative products are really the product of single persons (lead users), usually innovations are found and developed by a group of people. This is called "Distributed Innovation", as the product is incrementally developed by a large number of participants. It doesn't matter where the innovation process is based (virtual or real-life, in a company or outside), communication is the most important element in the process. Hence, especially for open forms of innovation, where a lot of participants are involved (crowdsourcing, communities for co-creation, innovation intermediaries and idea platforms), communication is vitally important.
Google Wave will revolutionize online communication
Google Wave has a lot of potential. At the moment only developers had the chance to test the platform, so most of the expectations are based on Google Waves presentation earlier this year. Also Forrester analyst Ted Schadler points out that it's not clear yet where the "sweet spot will be". But we are already sure that Google Wave will radically change our online communication habits. We will stop thinking in technologies, but instead think in "Communications" (or "Waves" as Google would say), independently from technology. Different communication technologies will converge into one, e.g. Email, Comments on Website, RSS-Feedreader, Twitter and Facebook could all be aggregated into Google Wave. Users will have one "single point of communication" and are not forced to check several accounts each day. Hence, online communication will become more efficient and less time-consuming.
Google Wave is open for innovations
With September 30th, 2009 the closed beta tests ends and the software will roll out for 100,000 new users and businesses. In the future, everybody will be able to use Google Wave (probably for free). But more important: Everybody can use Google Wave's API and the Wave Protocol to create new plug-ins and applications. Currently the development of Google Wave plug-ins has just started and companies are still able to create an early-mover advantage by contributing own applications. Third-party companies will use Google Wave as a platform for their own products, like British Telecom which already announced to launch VoIP gadgets for Google Wave. SAP has already implemented a business modelling plug-in for Google Wave.
Google Wave will make interaction with innovators easier than ever before. Existing "inbound cooperation activities" like Toolkits for User Innovation and Design, Idea Contests, Communities of Co-creation could be transferred to a Google Wave plug-in. Today, we are living in an attention economy. Attention from users (or in this case: innovators) has become a new currency. By using an efficient and uncomplicated way of interaction like Google Wave, companies can definitely profit from this bottleneck of user/innovator attention.
Now it's time to start experimenting with Google Wave and your open innovation activities!
Update: A very good read on Enterprise Applications for Googe Wave
