Google – live and loud
Last night saw Australia’s first Google Creative Sandbox – an attempt by the brand to persuade Australia’s adveritising world that there’s more to the company than boring old search.
There were bright lights, mini burgers, large screens and – most importantly – a great deal of alcohol.
Agency types were also out in force.
And while there was some particpatory fun to be had (I wasn’t surprised to discover I was extremely bad at driving a milk truck around the re-rendered environs of Sydney on a Wii wobble board), the bit to make the head hurt came with the demonstration of Google Wave.
When a preview of Wave was first unveiled to the world back in May, I settled down to watch the 80 minute YouTube video, as it felt kinda important. I stopped watching after about 15 minutes and filed it under my list of “Things that are big but will take at least half a day to get my head around”.
Last night, we had the 20 minute version, live on stage. Admittedly, it was slightly embarrassing for the poor old developers because they lost their network connection about three-quarters of the way though. But they still got the message across.
And a bit like when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPod Touch, it felt as if we were glimpsing somebody sent back from a couple of years in the future.
Before the preso, I asked a couple of Googlers to describe Wave in a couple of sentences. They couldn’t.
Neither can I, although I’ll have a go. The best I can do is that it’s a mash-up of social media, email, instant messaging and blogging. Imagine if every digital service you used was fully integrated with each other.
But blimey, it’s complicated to watch. I suspect it’s one of those things (a bit like Twitter) that once you try it, you quickly get your head round it.
There are still a few months before it’s out of development. When it comes though, it’s going to change everything.
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“a great deal of alcohol.”
“Agency types were also out in force”
naturally …
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Tim I think you really undersold the event.
The prawns were brilliant.
The little hamburgers mouthwatering.
Scallops on a spoon? Genius!
And those chocolate shots were sublime.
Although the beer was Tooheys.
Oh and yeah Wave wasn’t bad either. 😉
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I thought it was a WOW !
Amazing event with sexy digital stuff , a great vibe and energy …
Seeing mUmBRELLA in the spot;ight and on camera was a highlight .
sparrow
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So was it more a wave of nausea or a wave of ennui?
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So not only do they know what I search for, they want to know who I socialise with, who i email, what i write and what my opinion is. I wonder if I can get an wave app for my Google phone so they can listen to me speak as well?
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Ever wonder why their mobile OS is called Android?
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If Google people could not explain “Wave” then that’s a worry…you would think they would have done a breifing for the staff in attendance so they could sound like they know what’s going on?!?!? How could they explain it to the marketplace?
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CK … maybe it’s like Dennis Denuto in The Castle saying …. but it’s the vibe.
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Heh now that’s a good one John! I can just picture him there last night looking disheveled and wacking the computer to make it work
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Yeah … instead of saying “f***ing photo-copier” it would be “f***ing network connection”.
Anyway, I’m off to have a chat with Darryl over a sponge cake for lunch and feel the serenity.
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I thought it was an outstanding event and probably very timely in light of the bombshell of an article SMH published on Saturday.
Google admit themselves they could do much better in communicating to the masses their products. Lets not forget this is a technology / media company thats only been around just over 10 years.
Kudos Google!
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it’s mabo
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I think to call it outsanding would be over-egging the pudding a tad.
Despite all the great toys, it did feel a little awkward somehow.
The google sales people did a great job of trying to corrall everyone to different things, etc, but Google are new as a ‘creative’ brand and it showed.
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I wish I had gotten an invite to see how it played out.
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Why are ad agency staff going to a digital event? I am confused? Digital is the biggest consumer medium, yet most of my ad agency contacts are still pushing TV ad’s for their clients? Perhaps it’s something to do with the old fashioned business model of ad agencies? (Making too much money from production costs…?)
Google Wave – makes sense, I hope it isnt too complicated for the user.
Real time search is mega. A ‘reliable’ Tweet about an accident interupts my car stereo a second later and Tracey my husky GPS’ voice tells me to avoid an accident 2km’s ahead (the tweet was made from a bus that travelled where I am driving only minutes ago.)
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Very interesting Adam.
You seem to be saying that “only digital people can go to a digital event”. To continue that logic, male doctors shouldn’t go to symposia that specialise in female health problems. No child should ever do extra-curricula lessons to advance themselves. Extra training sessions for elite footballers – gone.
Remember when digital – hey lets more correctly call it online, because I don’t know about you but I watch digital TV, see digital billboards etc – was just a germ of an idea? Well you mightn’t but I sure as hell do. Under your criteria, no-one would have been allowed to go and learn about this new fandagled world-wide-web thingie that might just catch on, What a myopic, insular, elitist and self-serving view that is (that is in my humble opinion – but what would I know, my generation only invented the bloody thing).
And finally, under what criteria do you say “digital is the biggest consumer medium”? Please provide some (unbiased and robust) factual basis for that statement, as I tend to spend just a little bit of time researching consumers REAL media consumption habits, and I have found that for SOME people that is true, but for the majority it is not.
Thanks cognoscenti – I feel much better for that little rant.
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I went to a google wave developer day a couple of months ago and tried to define what the hell it is over at http://blog.gruden.com/2009/06.....ay-sydney/
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Google Wave certainly looks promising. I actually agree with their approach of integrating all these tools. I find that if I start a conversation with someone over twitter, facebook or some other social medium, and I want to continue that conversation, it will eventually go to email.
we’re just so used to using emails, plus sometimes you don’t want to necessarily broadcast your conversation to the entire world.
I think it has the potential to revolutionise the way we communicate – it might not be Google Wave, but its the direction we are heading in. I also dig the concurrent editing tool as well, and how it integrates with wiki’s and websites.
I saw a demo of google wave @ bar camp and it was well recieved. The audience would have been different to the “agency/creative crowd”. It was mostly IT people, and half the audience had sandbox accounts. Easily the most packed out session @ barcamp.
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John Grono: People say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. I am not sure if you detected my hint in the previous post? Perhaps you are American? It appears that you might well be from from the good ole US of A because you wrote; “mightn’t”…
Nothing wrong with American’s mind; I am married to one. Or did I get a bite re the production cost business model sentence?
Anyhow, jesting aside; I am not bagging out other mediums, they all have a place. The dust is still settling in media world; I am sure that we will watch a few print titles crash and burn over the next 12 months. At the same time a few will hold their own and stay strong. Who has a mobile phone? Who has a mobile phone that has access to the web? Mark my words Mr Grono: The biggest consumer medium my friend…
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Sorry Adam. I borrowed Dennis Denuro’s “Sarcasm-O-Meter” from him, but it must be on the blink because it couldn’t detect any hint of sarcasm in your post.
And sorry to disappoint, but I am Sydney born and bred, and have used the contraction of “might not” as “mightn’t” all my life. Does the sentence rewritten as “Well you might not but I sure as hell do” make sense? It sure looks like that way to me – ergo a valid contraction in any English speaking country (including America, which I have to agree tend to have their own linguistic quirks). I have noticed that Amercians even tend to refer to the plural of ‘medium’ as ‘mediums’ insead of ‘media’ (those silly old Latins and Greeks obviously didn’t know what they were talking about!).
However, I do agree that digital WILL BECOME the biggest consumer medium, but that is a VERY different statement to your “Digital is the biggest consumer medium”. I stand by both my facts and my grammar. But, I will have to take you word on production cost models as I don’t work in an ad agency.
P.S. Of course mt Crackberry has access to the web – thank goodness.
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Damn …. rented fingers … that should be “my Crackberry” of course!
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Hi Tim,
As we were discussing at the Future of Journalism event in Perth, I’d suggest if you really have to summarize Google Wave, I’d say it’s a platform which makes all content is a conversation, and all conversation is content. 🙂
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I will let you of JG 😉
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“off”
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