Google Wave was an ambitious collaboration platform launched in 2009 but shut down just over a year later in August 2010. Some of the key reasons for its failure included: 1) Its complex user interface and real-time features made it difficult for most users to understand and adopt. 2) It struggled to gain critical mass with only around 1 million users after over a year, far less than simpler services like Google Buzz. 3) The timing was not right as consumers were not ready for such an integrated email, messaging, and collaboration platform in real-time. 4) Competition from existing collaboration software and better options for one-to-one communication like Facebook made it challenging for Wave to gain widespread

1. 2009 - †2010
Lessons from
Google Wave (and
the Iceberg).
1

2. INTRO
New, Old Problems
- People assume that because we work in “new” media, we
have “new problems” (with design, clients, specification,
regulation etc.)
2

3. The
Iceberg
- The Iceberg has become a metaphor for a failure. It's part of
our mythology.
- How does the newest, largest, and most technologically
advanced innovation, or the unsinkable, sink?
- 90/10 rule.
3

4. COUNTDOWN
To Distaster
10 Reasons for the sinking of the Titanic.
4

5. #10
The Iceberg
- The Iceberg.
5

6. #9
The Captain
- Capt Smith did not reduce his speed, despite warnings.
- Under pressure to set new Trans-Atlantic speed record.
- Went down with ship.
6

7. #8
The Wireless Officer
- Officer Philips.
- One radio channel at the time.
- While he did receive and pass on some iceberg warnings, he
asked the senders to stop transmitting them.
7

8. #7
The Officer of the Deck
- Murdoch was the officer of the deck, another experienced
sailor.
- Once he heard the notice, “Iceberg, dead ahead,” he did
what he had been trained to do: he threw the engines in
reverse.
8

9. #6
The Spec
- Researchers have discovered that the builders of the Titanic
struggled for years to obtain enough good rivets and
ultimately settled on faulty materials that doomed the ship.
- Issue was even discussed at every board meeting.
9

10. #5
HR Problems
- The company faced constant skills shortage.
10

11. #4
Safety & Regulation
- Inadequate number of lifeboats on board (only 16).
- At the time, lifeboat regulation based on the tonnage of
the ship.
- Changes imminent to a passenger-based system. The ship
owners opposed the change.
11

12. #3
The Client
- The Titanic's designers planned double davits to
accommodate the extra lifeboats. Sketches for these were
found after the ship sank.
- However, owner Bruce Ismay decided not to add the extra
lifeboats since they would have cut down on the space on
the first class promenade deck, rather than prepare for a
disaster that would “never happen” on a ship with the
Titanic's technology.
12

13. #2
The Lookout
- Fred Fleet, experienced seaman
- First to spot the iceberg ahead at 500 yards.
- Visibility should have allowed him to spot the iceberg at
1000 yards or greater, but Fred Fleet couldn’t find the
binoculars.
13

14. However, the binoculars
were found 80 years
later…
14

15. #1
The Designer
- Thomas Andrews was the Titanic’s marine architect.
- Viewing the damage, he famously predicted that the ship
would sink in two and a half hours, and he was correct to
the minute.
- Andrews also went down with the ship.
15

16. Andrews also designed the Titanic's sister ship,
the Brittanic, which also sank in 1916 after
hitting a mine…
16

17. … in 2.5 hours!
17

18. GOOGLE
Wave
The Hype.
Google launched its Google Wave real-time collaboration
platform at the Google I/O conference in May 2009.
The presentation blew some peoples' minds, prompting
effusive applause. People saw something they've never seen
before: a mash-up of e-mail, instant messaging, live editing,
photo and video sharing.
On August 4, 2010 Google said it was shutting Wave.
18

19. COUNTDOWN
To Distaster
10 Reasons for the
sinking of Google
Wave.
19

20. #10
Critical Mass
- Wave’s iceberg.
- 100,000 invites, but not enough “power users”.
- Wave, which launched to the general public in May 2010,
only gained 1 million users in more than a year.
- By contrast, Google Buzz (a much simpler service) launched
in February 2010 and has tens of millions of users.
20

21. #9
Competition
- Competition from existing collaboration software (SAP
Workstream, Novell Pulse etc)
21

22. #8
Extendability
- Not extendable.
- eg Google chrome has 1,000+ plug-ins and extensions.
- Poor integration with other Google aps (eg Google docs).
22

23. #7
1:1
- Good for mass collaboration and workgroups
- Bad for 1:1 communication with family and friends
(Facebook, IM still better)
23

24. #6
The Captain
- “Live typing” was a core part of the Wave protocol, and
Lars Rasmussen considered it a critical Wave “killer
feature”!
- This was a major buzzkill; few people are comfortable in an
informal chat where others can watch them type.
24

25. #5
Product/Marketing Mismatch
- “Wave This” button.
- Media and bloggers.
25

26. #4
Learning Curve
- E-mail is simple. Everyone knows how to use it …
- Google Wave had a 195-page tutorial ..
26

27. #3
Wild West Launch
- Launched with a poor signal to noise ratio!
- By default, all waves were public, killing the powerful
collaborative features.
27

28. #2
Timing
- Consumers not ready to handle e-mail/IM/social networking
in real-time.
28

29. #1
The Designer
- Google wave was an enigma wrapped in a riddle shrouded by
a confusing user interface, that is all. It was the best of
apps, it was the worst of applications.
29

30. 30

31. SUMMARY
Thoughts
- This time the captain didn’t go down with the ship.
- Lars Rasmussen joined Facebook instead.
31

32. One #fail because people
couldn’t get OFF, and
the other because people
couldn’t get ON in-time.
32

33. What’s YOUR
project’s potential
“iceberg”?
33

34. Simple
Test of Failure
- 1. Is it hard to explain?
- 2. Does it check with human nature?
- 3. Does it work on paper?
- 4. Does it explode in others’ minds?
- 5. Is it the right time?
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35. THANKS
kelly@nowtom.com
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