What Ever Happened To Google Wave and Fast Flip?

I’m an early adopter.  Are you?

There are some times when I do not want to be an early adopter.  Certain things I gravitate to and start using just end up as a pile of ash.  It’s always been this way.  Take TV shows, for example.  If there is a new show, I never start watching in the first season because every time I do, the show is cancelled.

Maybe I’m not “the norm”

I’d like to think that I’m just an average American.  I like new things.  I like technology.  I like to use tools that make my life easier or more efficient.  Which brings me to some of the old Google Labs creations.

• Google Wave– Google Wave was touted in 2009 as the thing that would replace email.  It was the vision of what email would look like if it were created in 2009 so that it incorporated real-time collaboration.  While using it, you could actively see what other people were typing and how they were adding to the conversation.
• Google Fast Flip– In 2009, this tool was created as a way to aggregate news stories in a format similar to a traditional newspaper.  Readers could literally “flip” through the pages which was a whole new experience on the web.

I was a huge fan of the Wave because I could invite specific people to the conversation (or be invited) and it was like a meld of email and Twitter.  I liked that the conversations were saved too, more like email, so that I could easily search for information.  I used Fast Flip as a way to search for and aggregate specific new information on HR issues. Both were discontinued.

Today, you can find a similar Fast Flip experience if you use the Flipboard or Zite apps on your phone.  I have not found anything similar enough to Wave, so I continue to use a combo of G+, Twitter and LinkedIn.

What’s Next?

Does this mean that we shouldn’t be early adopters?  Not a chance.  If it means you’re using new technologies, even for a short time, you’re learning.  It’s not important what those technologies or applications are.  It shows that you’re someone open to change.  In fact, you embrace change.

If not, you can always go back to reading the newspaper and sending all your correspondence through the USPS.  Just sayin’.