Google Wave Is Revealed

Google revealed Wave at its I/O conference in May 2009 as an attempt to rethink email and collaborative communication. A “wave” was a shared document and conversation that multiple users could edit in real time.

The system used operational transformation techniques so concurrent edits from different users could be merged while preserving a consistent document state. Participants could see characters appear as others typed, embed rich content, and replay the history of changes. Google also published a federation protocol intended to let different Wave servers communicate.

The technology was ambitious, but the product was difficult to explain. Users already understood email, chat, and documents; Wave combined all three without giving people an obvious new habit. Google discontinued the standalone product in 2010, but real-time collaborative editing became standard elsewhere, especially in web-based office software.