I received a wave invite when the first 100,000 went. I don’t think I was one of the original 100,000 but enough of those folks managed to recommend me (or invite me) and my Google Wave invite appeared 24 hours later.
Wave is exciting but still in preview mode. The real fun and benefit come when you have a team of friends or colleagues to collaborate with. For examples, if you write for site like Lifehacker.com or a newspaper, perhaps a Chicago Sun Times, then Wave is something to behold. Yes, the possibilities could lead to world domination!
My Uses/Reasons
Note Taking. I used Wave during a few classes to simply take notes. Taking notes for the mid-term in Wave made sense for a few reasons. I could easily copy and paste my review into an email to send for friends that missed class that day. Some did, I delivered.
Functionality. I went with Wave over Word or other similar applications. Those apps use up resources, and may become to technical when you’re on the go. The less apps I have open, the better. Forget the clutter and distractions these apps bring. It works, it’s simple, what else could you ask for.
Networking. Wave offers opportunities for interaction with other readers and bloggers of the sites you enjoy most. For example, I found Waves surrounding sites I follow; Lifehacker.COM, Smarterware.ORG, Androidandme.COM
There’s waves for individuals from certain cities and so on.
Planning: When I received my Wave, the first person I sent an invite to what my fiancée because if we both managed to own an account, we could collaborate on anything wedding related; special reminders, last minute adjustments, extending to do lists, if necessary! 
And of course, if I had to be in Chicago or away from whatever reason, no worries.
Thanks to Gina, I learned a few extra tips on search filters and options. Here’s the three search options:
- onlyto:me is:unread : This is straight forward. You’ll only see waves directed to you (no one else) that are unread.
- creator:me -is:note: this will only display any waves (used as notes) I created. This includes waves you directed toward someone (kinda like email).
- is:note: For me, I’d see my mid-term notes, or class notes and to do lists. If you wish to use Wave as a notebook, then go ahead! You could keep all your blog drafts neatly organized in your inbox.
The reality is this, this tool like any other is about how you use it and with who. Doing a with: public search brings live feeds front and center. It can be a distraction. Don’t get pull in by the waves. Know why and how you’re gonna use it.
This applies to Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed and so on. Enjoy the short video preview!
Related posts:
- Mac Power Tools: Useful Apps Flickr:Mosieur J My new Macbook isn’t a year old and...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
- Follow me on Twitter to communicate and stay connected.
- Subscribe via RSS to keep up to date.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m glad this feed notification is there in my inbox today. I had no idea of the search options, or maybe I wasn’t digging hard enough. ^^ Great to know all the choices you can do with Wave. (Will I hear the Wedding bells any sooner? *wink) Good job, have this stumbled!
@wchingya
Social/Blogging Tracker
Thanks for visiting Ching Ya, these options bring some structure and organization to Wave. Filters like this are useful for those times when we’re not just freelancing aimlessly but wanting to complete an important task. Wave can be distraction central if we let it.
-Mig