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Surfing the wave

The easiest way to understand a new technology is to compare it with something known.  For example, a car is a carriage without the horses, e-mail is a letter without paper, a mobile phone is a phone without the wire and so on. You can explain almost everything in that format.

Almost. Twitter is like ___ without ____. And Google Wave? Well, I think you have to be a user of Twitter and Google Wave to understand what are they about or what are they good for. When it comes to communication tools, you obviously need someone to communicate with, because the value of the tool is linked to what your friends are doing with it. I've using Wave for only a couple of days, and at first glance is hard to understand where to start. Plus, the only way in is by invitation, so not everybody is there yet. 

Let's wave together!

  • If you want to add me to your contacts, I'm natalia.ventre[at]@googlewave.com
  • I have 18 invitations left, if your are interested, send me a DM at Twitter, a message via FaceBook, or whatever you like, with your email.

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Comments (4)

Nov 03, 2009
P@blo said...
¡Excelente artículo! Me encantó la analogía para explicar cómo funcionan las cosas. Parecería que Wave es algo muy colaborativo, sólo que todavía no tiene una definición precisa. Curioso video.
Nov 04, 2009
vruz said...
Twitter is like broadcast SMS.
Wave is like broadcast email, chat and sms.

All of these require a terminal of some kind, but not necessarily or specifically a computer, netbook or mobile phone. (I've seen Wave running on an OLPC XO for example)

I think that explaining things in terms of "this without that" worked well when every function was implemented in hardware as an independent device. There used to be a direct one-to-one relationship between user interface, its physical embodiment and the machinery behind that made it work.
The invention of personal computers and the surge of the Internet broke that one-to-one relationship irremediably forever. As functions become all virtualised, *all* applications have left behind the physical embodiment they used to have, and the only physical thing left is the general purpose terminal.
Thusly, *everything* new is *without*.
In this sense, I think it's correct to think in terms of:

Skype is a phone without the phone.

Nov 04, 2009
vruz said...
and oh...

Youtube is a TV without the TV.
:-)

Nov 10, 2009
Dave Doolin said...
I have got to get going in my wave account. This is the motivation I need. Thanks.

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