Having had access to the Google Wave Preview for two weeks now, I thought it would be a good time to reflect and look back at what I have learned.

Here, in no particular order, are some of my observations:

1. You need people on the wave - One of the understandable problems with the Google Wave preview is that fact that a lot of people that I would co-operate and chat with if I could, just do not have invites. While a 100,000 people might sound like a lot at first glance, it does mean that a lot of people have to be left out. The public waves help a bit, providing a way to test wave functionality, as well as to meet people on the wave.
2. It is improving, fast! – Since I joined the wave, in just two short weeks, I have noticed that a huge amount of improvement has taken place, in terms of stability and functionality. The google wave team seems to be on top of things, and are working very hard to make wave a better platform.
3. Most Waves are about… Google Wave – At this stage of its development, a lot of the discussions and projects on Google Wave are about Google Wave itself, and various ways to use it. This is most obvious in the public waves, although more recently I have seen more non-wave related waves. As the platform matures, and people get over their initial fascination and confusion with it, they will start using it for other projects.
4. It is easy to get used to Wave - due to point 1, I still spend a lot of time and energy using email and other communication software, and I get frustrated with their limitations, especially the blip and history models. A number of times I have had meetings at work, where I thought “this would be a lot easier if we all had wave”, but, alas, my co-workers don’t have invites yet, and I have none to give.
5. Nobody is really sure what to do with it - I have seen a lot of blog posts, waves and tweets that boil down to “I have my wave invite!!!!…. Now what?” The fact is that a lot of people seem to expect Wave to do something on its own. Google Wave is a collaboration and communication platform, that is all, what you use it for is entirely up to you. Probably the best way to test it out is by picking a project that you are working on, and using wave for it.
6. Google Wave is Fun! - I have no need to explain this one.

Related posts:

1. Looking Back
2. Monetizing Google Wave
3. What I would like to see in Google Wave
4. Wave in 2010