New technologies are constantly coming out. Our challenge is figuring out out to leverage them for our success.
Originally Posted on Successful Thinkers Meetup by Josh Shackelford
Google is will be launching a new platform called Wave. The Google Wave is suppose to leverage social networks to enhance communication.
Check out what one of its founders had to say.
"Back in early 2004, Google took an interest in a tiny mapping startup called Where 2 Tech, founded by my brother Jens and me. We were excited to join Google and help create what would become Google Maps. But we also started thinking about what might come next for us after maps. As always, Jens came up with the answer: communication. He pointed out that two of the most spectacular successes in digital communication, email and instant messaging, were originally designed in the '60s to imitate analog formats — email mimicked snail mail, and IM mimicked phone calls. Since then, so many different forms of communication had been invented — blogs, wikis, collaborative documents, etc. — and computers and networks had dramatically improved. So Jens proposed a new communications model that presumed all these advances as a starting point; I was immediately sold," explains Lars Rasmussen.
What does this mean? 
We all have many projects that we are concurrently working on, with many different teams. Well maybe not so many different teams as much so as multiple projects with the same team. Imagine being able to brainstorm, day or night, with your team, and to have a track record of the conversations and the evolution of the project. Your coders can add functional input, your designers can add graphics, your business execs can mold the conversation towards business objectives, and your sales reps or field agents can provide feedback as to what is needed in the field. Real-time, complete, and full collaboration from anywhere in the world.
Just about every demographic should be getting excited about this new platform. Business owners and execs can leverage it for business, while kids can chat about their days or work on hobbies, and gamers can play games with their friends. In order to be successful in anything that we do, we need to invest in the people around us. Google Wave is another way for people investing.
How will Google Wave work? 
Google defines a Wave as a new communication project. You would create a wave and add people to it. Everyone you invite on to your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can all edit directly within the wave, adding replies, comments, images, video, etc… It's real-time editing, where you will be able to see instantly, what your fellow team members (or wave members) are typing in your wave. Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for long term content -- it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use "playback" to rewind the wave to see how it evolved.
How can Google Wave make me more Successful?
Often on Successful Thinkers, people are talking about successful people being continues learners. Successful people are looking for better ways to accomplish their goals, and need to be able to lean on their community to do that. A Google Wave will allow you to communicate more effectively with your community and team. You could even open your wave up to strangers to get some additional expert opinions on your projects.
Some people might even consider creating a wave to discuss marketing strategies. Imagine starting a wave about a billboard, and with the help of your community, you could end up with a video production on TV for a fraction of the cost of the billboard. How this would be accomplished, I’m not sure. But the power of a community and the influence that they have, could bring a great reward your direction.
Once Google Wave becomes live, you can bet we will find a way to integrate it into successful thinkers, so that we can all ride that Wave to Success.
Originally Posted on Successful Thinkers Meetup by Josh Shackelford
