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Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009

Google4 HN recommenders · recommended in 4 months, 2009–2025
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demo · general · 2009–2025 on HN

The Google I/O 2009 keynote introducing Google Wave, a real-time collaborative communication and document platform. It includes a long live demo and the developer preview announcement.

HN returns to it as the original Wave pitch, both for its wow factor and as a case study in a hyped product that was later shut down.

10 comments from Hacker News

@rkagerer2025-09 · in “Meta’s live demo fails; “AI” recording plays before the actor takes the steps”

Here's one of my favorites, of Lars doing the Wave dance on stage to ad-lib over connectivity hiccups. For some reason it evoked a lot more empathy from me... ▶ this video

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@Samuel_Michon2013-03 · in “Finale for Now on Google's Self-Inflicted Trust Problem”

For me it was Google Wave. The presentation[1] got me very excited and I couldn't wait to start using it. I signed up for the beta and told everyone I work with to do so as well. It quickly became an invaluable tool for me, I couldn't imagine what I'd do without it. And then, a year after it was introduced, only 3 months after it was released to the general public, Google announced Wave was dead. [1] ▶ this video

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@bmelton2009-06 · in “Review my startup: Revizr. You haven't seen this before.”

I'm surprised nobody has compared this to google's wave yet. If you haven't, you should go check out the demo -- I'm not for sure yet how much feature overlap there is, but their demo exhibits a wow factor that is undeniable. It's long, but skip around and you're sure to hit on at least some of the important bits: ▶ this video

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@luigi2009-05 · in “Five Reasons to Be Terrified of Google Wave ”

That's probably the most blatant example of FUD in internet history. Jumping to conclusions while remaining blissfully ignorant to the actual implementation. Until we get access to the sandbox, you should draw your own conclusions by watching the keynote: ▶ this video

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@rkagerer2025-06 · in “Google aims to reinvent email with Wave (2009)”

I was in the audience when they previewed it for the first time at I/O. The Internet at that conference was awfully intermittent (ironic considering this was Google), and I have fond memories of Lars doing the Wave dance on stage to ad-lib over the connectivity hiccups: ▶ this video