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Is the Google Wave going to kill social media platforms?

06/02/09 06:03 AM Filed in: Internet Trends
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I watched a keynote presentation from Google on their new cloud integrated application called "Wave" and it's pretty impressive. As I watched the demo a couple of things became clear to me; first, the Internet, and the way we communicate, is continuing to evolve and second, people are losing personal face to face business communication skills that are essential in any relationship. Some are wondering if Google's Wave could be the beginning of the end for social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter but I don't think this will happen. It is, however, a glimpse of an integrated communications platform that could be available to business in the near future.



First let me say that I have always been a big fan of Google. I believe that they are a well run and future looking company with some very smart people who "get it". That being said over the past few years Google has been losing some talented individuals as they struggle to move from a web company to an American business with the typical bureaucratic regulations that drive people away.

Googles Wave is going to be released later this year but they have released the application so developers can get busy to create apps for it. A very smart move indeed but will American companies warm up to Wave? Well, first many of us know that IT people like to test and test new applications for years before giving them the thumbs up and allowing them on corporate networks. Second Wave requires a Google eMail account and although I am sure it can eventually be integrated with corporate eMail networks there is a small issue of security that has to be addressed.

What I am most worried about though is that communication seems to be moving from face to face contact to impersonal tools like Wave or other IM clients. eMail and IM allow people to be passive aggressive and say things via the keyboard that they normally would not say in person. In addition face to face communication provides people with an opportunity to address communication barriers via body language that cannot be done online.

Should the folks at Twitter and Facebook be worried? Well, yes and no. First both have grown in numbers the last few years and more and more people are joining everyday but we also are finding out that a lot of people are NOT using SM platforms and those that sign up may not be regular users. There is also the little problem of making Twitter and Facebook profitable. I use Twitter a lot and have found it to be a great business intelligence tool to stay on top of trends and breaking news on the Internet. Facebook on the other hand has little use for me and although I maintain a page there I don't use Facebook as much as Twitter. The real challenge for theses SM sites is going to be evolving to meet customer needs while maintaining their user base. Twitter is a great platform but 3-5 years from now it may become passe.

Keep an eye on Google's Wave but more importantly keep on eye on competitors moves. Apple, Microsoft, and others surely see that there is money to be made with an integrated communications real time collaboration tool. The Web continues to evolve but move too fast and users could revolt regardless of how good a platform may be.
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