Knowledge Advocate

I spoke at the Austin Technology Council Rave this week. My topic was Google Wave: introduction and predictions about this game changing product, platform and protocol. I made a hunch: how we talk off line wants to be the same as how we talk on-line. I predicted Google Wave will help do that. The truth of the prediction will depend on Google’s continued support of Google Wave, developers’ decisions to embrace its open source nature, and each of our own choices and decisions to use it, or not.

A couple of interesting things. Is the hunch true whether or not Google is involved? Consider what portions of your offline talks are private and which ones are public. Similar consideration, which on-line conversations are public and which are private? Regardless of your answer, it is how you communicate, and not why or for what reasons, that wants to be the same on-line as off.

Example, a person who interrupts people off line to save time (not a great habit, by the way) would interrupt them on line given the chance. By contrast, offering positive body language and fair timing between thoughts is as pleasant to experience on line as it is off line. In other words, there are courtesies, conventions, and levels of engagement we use off line as we talk that can play a large role in our on line conversations. We want those same real world experiences to govern our on line talks: this is the sum point of the hunch.

Google Wave offers one exciting possibility for how our future conversations will happen on-line. I applaud Google for its support of the project so far and look forward to seeing the protocol grow and blossom into a wonderful environment for conversations that matter.