I just found out that Google Wave is waving goodbye.  Google management said,

We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects.

I, for one, is disappointed with this update. Yes, it’s not a perfect product. There are times when your images don’t show up or documents being uploaded can’t be previewed or it’s too slow. Despite its limitations, I’ve learned to ignore them because it helped me organize my work. It was easier for me to click on “next 1” (which brings you automatically to the latest post within a wave) and read the comment within a project cycle than browse through my inbox, trying to look for the email thread (especially if the subject has been changed several times).

I’ve read comments and posts from Wave critics, stating it was a hodgepodge of existing tools which is why it didn’t work. Maybe it was, but knowing how to use it properly and for its intended purpose (like project management or brainstorming), it’s a great productivity tool.

So, as I say goodbye to Google wave, I look forward to what the team has to offer when they merge this with other Google projects.

Time to research for the next new shiny toy.