Time is up, the paradigm is shifting
Yes, I’m now riding the wave. Google Wave that is, and you should be too. I’ll admit, I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to get my early beta invite, as Google has already graced us with G-Mail, Google Talk, Google Voices, and now Google Wave, not to mention Google analytics, ads, real estate, and countless other Google things that all require some kind of attention, but this time, it’s different.
Google wave is Google’s way of rethinking collaboration for every day people, every day business, and yes, every day email. At first, I wasn’t that impressed, until I actually watched over Lani’s shoulder as she worked with a friend here in Austin using Google Wave. As they talked using live email all in the same chat window, the conversation is tracked, it can be played backwards and forwards to keep you in sync with one another, and (here’s the wicked part) they were able to exchange photos and videos within the same session. No new browser window, no clicking links, it was all just there- that’s when I realized that agents that have failed to learn and utilize basic web tools just got left behind- time is up, the paradigm is shifting.
I had these thoughts, realizing that this is a meeting tool- it’s a client and an agent sharing real estate knowledge, viewing neighborhoods, showing homes, and communicating about them in real time from the comfort of their pajamas. Clients can now present with ease in one window what they’ve found by crowd sourcing their home buying process with their agent, and their agent can do exactly the same in return. Google Wave allows the client and agent to get on one page seamlessly, store it, play back the stream of conversation, and even share it with others.
Worry not, because the coming that is Google Wave is still in early beta and your clients most likely haven’t yet experienced the wave, and probably haven’t even heard of it yet, but mark my words… they will, and they’ll use it not only personally, but in business, because it knows no timezone and is only limited by one’s ability to actually learn how to use it. It isn’t hard, it’s not intimidating, in fact, it looks a lot like email, but it is so much more than that which is why you need to learn it.
Stay tuned, you’re going to be hearing a lot more about Google Wave.
