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.
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Consumerism, Geo-mapping columnist
Marketing columnist
Whaaaaaaa. Where the hell is my invite Google.
Go get’m Benn, thanks for sharing.
I have the Google Voice deal, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on porting my cell number to it yet. How about you? Are you using GV?
Thanks
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@kenbrand I’m using Google voice, and so far I really like it, unless you’re the caller. The need for google to advertise what system I’m using seems very 1.0. All and all though, it’s been very helpful in many respects. I’ll not be porting any numbers to it though, just the call forwarding feature.
Benn,
I created a public wave for real estate agents here: [link broken]
and have begun populating it with tips on just using wave, but with a bent for agents. Obviously, looking for collaboration and learning together with other RE professionals.
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Todd, very very cool!
Benn,
Thanks for sharing your insight. I look forward to using it very soon. I always have agents asking me about new and innovative ways to stay on top of the market. I will be sure to forward this to them. I will also continue to refer them to AG for everything else
Todd, I tried joining that wave… not sure I am doing it correctly. I pasted the link into my google wave page. It does not appear to be pulling up. Tips?
Funny thing, I think gWave is acting a bit goofy today…Not had an updated wave since about 9:30 am EST…
Be sure to snag the whole link too…I see the link above stopped being a hyper link at the !. You can also do a search for it by typing the following into the bar above your inbox:
with:public real estate
The open RE wave I created is titled: Google Wave and Real Estate – Open Forum
Hope that helps…
I’ve tried to get an invite, but nothing yet.
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You can reach Todd @Toddwaller to get an invitation to his group.
yeah, happy to add you directly to the wave…simply dm on twitter your googlewave.com address and I’ll happily add!
@ToddWaller
Wow! I can’t wait. I viewed the videos and I think this is a killer app, will change the way we communicate completely and forever. I can’t wait for my invitation!
I find the whole, you have to be invited by a friend to gain access, to be a great way to create desire to test it out. I look forward to continued reviews on how it works for everyone! Thanks for sharing Benn!
So I have had a chance to test drive a little in the “Wave” and I have to tell you. At first it is a little overwhelming, but once you get used to the functions it is fairly easy to navigate. I can definitely see the benefits this would hold for agents wanting to extend the conversation with their clients. I can see this working hand in hand with Twitter to create meet ups (tweet ups)…I can just see it now Twave Ups….(maybe that could use a little work)
Thanks for the info Benn
Great as always!
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@laniar is finding Adam that it can kill FF, she’s crashed twice in two days, I on the other hand am pretty stable on chrome (figures). I’ll have more in depth in the coming days, but for now wanted to make the intro- thanks for the feedback in the meanwhile!
Thanks for the heads up Benn! It sounds really interesting, almost like a cross between IM and Gmail. I’m going to see what I can find out.
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I got my wave and set it up but until a few more folks are there, not much to do. Waving at Todd and the group he started.
Find me Ben…and Lani….
Way cool! I didn’t think the beta of gwave was going to be available for awhile yet. I signed up for it months ago so hopefully I’ll be getting an invite soon.
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update: one of the recommendations I’ll be making is the need to provide a disclaimer/acceptance for private data and conversations. Agents should know now that conversations can be embedded in blogs and emails. Agents should be aware of disclosure rules and other items of a sensitive nature that may be overlooked in a comfortable setting that can be taken out of context later- not that anyone I know would ever have this problem, but I’m pretty sure there are reasons they’re not calling this email, and that might be because it wouldn’t have the same protections private emails currently have.
It was discussed offline today it is totally possible that Google could potentially crawl the conversations at some point as well- I haven’t had time to really dive into the details of the use policy of Google just yet, but I will this weekend unless someone else can shed some light.
Benn,
Aaaand there’s the rub with Wave… Will the Google index/crawl these waves? Which waves will they crawl? If it truly is an open source hunk of software, then installation of Wave for businesses (agents & brokers) would, presumably, make the sharing of information a little more ‘comfortable.’
Right now, in its shaky beta phase, I’d be leery of using this for sensitive client communications. Having said that, and once Wave’s limitations are known, I could see a few applications immediately for agents;
1 – House Hunting Collaboration with buyers
2 – Lead management for RE teams
3 – Office ‘Meetings’ for home office or distant agents
I wonder if Google would be able to crawl the conversations if the Wave software was run on a private server/domain. If I recall correctly, Google mentioned in their big roll-out video that this is open source software that could be run on a private server.
When I first saw the Wave intro video one of the thoughts I had was would this software have the potential to be used as a transaction management application. I hope there is strong enough security for something like this.
I don’t have a Wave account yet so I am just hopefully speculating at this point.
I think there is! I haven’t used it either but this was one of my first thoughts as well and will be one of my main initial practical uses of the wave without a doubt.
I’m also looking forward to working with buyers searching for properties and actually providing SERVICE over a wave. I really can’t wait!
A business acquaintance of mine actually did a prototype of an app similar to Wave a few years ago. It was targeted at Realtors to facilitate real time collaboration with clients. The feature set was very similar to Wave but the project was never completed, so I’m very excited to see Wave available now.
Now only if I could get an invite
Duuuuuuuuudes I sure could use a google invite.
For the spirit of Chrismas, LORD, send me a google invite!
I would love to work and share with you all.
Wow, the video on this makes me want to get in line… The agent and client interaction would be a great tool. Do I beg for an invitation @ToddWaller?
I’m not one of the invitees but at an SEO REBAR meetup yesterday in Charlotte the reviews were decidedly mixed…from “nothing there” to an excellent way to teach a class online.
Question: How many new ways do we need to communicate?