Google Wave To Splash Down This Fall

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Google Wave To Splash Down This Fall

Google Apps users promised first access

By Doug Caverly

There's fresh word this afternoon about when (and to whom) Google Wave will become available. Schools and businesses that use Google Apps appear to be first in a line that should start moving this fall.

A post on the Official Google Enterprise Blog announced, "While the product, platform and protocols are still being developed, we're extending access to some of the highly collaborative people and communities we hope to benefit in the future - businesses and schools. In turn, we look forward to learning from these Google Apps users, so we can continue to tweak and develop the product as we gain insight from their experiences."

Matthew Glotzbach and Stephanie Hannon, the authors of the post and members of the Google Enterprise and Wave teams, then want to introduce Wave to all Google Apps users sometime next year.

It's almost surprising that this rollout wouldn't proceed in the reverse order, with Google experimenting on average users (or at least, letting average users opt in) and not exposing paying customers to unpolished tech.

The top-down approach may signal the degree to which Google believes Wave will be exciting or even revolutionary, though. We'll be sure to keep a close eye on what the first businesspeople and academics who get their hands on it say.