The Ghost of Collaboration Future
15 Years of "Ahead of Its Time" — How Google Wave Became Tech's Most Cited Cautionary Tale
The Hidden Pattern
The conventional wisdom says:
"Google Wave failed because nobody understood what it was."
The data tells a different story.
Wave didn't fail because it was confusing. It failed because Google made it impossible to use with the people you needed to use it with.
A collaboration tool that won't let you collaborate.
For 15 years, every new collaboration tool has been compared to Wave. Slack, Notion, Teams — all "what Wave should have been." The ghost still haunts us.
The Wave Timeline
From revolutionary hype to legendary cautionary tale.
The Announcement
Google I/O reveals Wave to standing ovation
Revolutionary hype. "Email is now officially old technology."
"Email is now officially old technology."
The Death
Google kills Wave after just one year
Shock and frustration. Users loved it but couldn't get others in.
"Right when all us geeks were HUNGRY to start trying out this system, only a handful of us received invites. So, Wave was useless to me to begin with."
The Slack Era Begins
Slack launches, comparisons begin immediately
Bittersweet recognition. "This is what Wave should have been."
"Google Wave was simply too ahead of its time. It's funny to see how Slack and HipChat are so similar to it."
The Nostalgia Peak
Slack valued at billions, Wave comparisons intensify
Regret and what-ifs. "Wave was better than Slack."
"I loved Wave before it was killed, and while I know a lot of people still hold grudges over Reader, Wave is the axed Google product I miss most."
The Legend
Wave becomes shorthand for "killed too soon"
Mythologized. Every new collab tool "reminds me of Wave."
"Wave was so cool. I was really excited about our wave-enabled future. The simultaneous editing became integrated into Google Docs but I feel like neither really reproduced the magic of Wave."
"Ahead of Its Time" — The Most Common Epitaph
This phrase appears 47 times in Wave discussions spanning 15 years.
"Google Wave was ahead of its time. I'm sure Wave or something similar will show up and prove to be useful maybe five years from now."
2010 + 5 = 2015. Slack launches. He was right.
@elbenshira →"Wave was too ahead of its time. Bots in channels that could translate and issue arbitrary actions? In 2009? Nonsense."@pmalynin →
"Google Wave was too far ahead of its time. Even now, products are just starting to take baby steps toward living document collaboration."@xnx →
Why Wave Really Failed
The community diagnosed the problems clearly — even as it was happening.
The Invite Catastrophe
"A product that required the network effect of a large connected userbase to succeed only had random individuals with access. Literally no one I worked with got invites."
"Invites are absolutely, 110% the first and foremost reason that Wave failed. You absolutely cannot have a group-based system that does not immediately allow a full group to join. Can you imagine if Slack relied on invites?"
The Identity Crisis
"One year after release (and having never used it), I still don't really know what it does."
"Wave solved too many problems for too many people. It was hard to define. Google said it was email if it had been designed today, but email is used for so many purposes."
The Performance Nightmare
"The ridiculously confusing interface, plus the fact that it takes 30 seconds to load and then runs like a dog, is the perfect explanation of why Wave is being shut down."
"The biggest problem with using Wave was that it was only just barely usable on top-tier hardware of the time."
"Slack is What Wave Should Have Been"
52 comments compare Wave to Slack. The comparison started in 2015 and never stopped.
"I can't help but think that this is what Google Wave was supposed to be. But Slack is what actually enabled people to build little bots like this for everything."@cbhl →
"Wave was closer to natural human conversation. Slack, god bless it, is closer to a traditional forum with a different UI. Wave was a leap forward. Slack maybe a baby step."@chiefalchemist →
"I Miss Wave"
38 comments express longing for a product killed in 2010. The grief persists.
"I for one LOVED wave and used it every single day. My friends and I spent many months looking for a viable replacement."
"I miss Google Wave. Not the messy implementation, but the promise of a big influential company throwing its weight behind a modern, open communication protocol."
"Google Wave, I wish it was never stopped. It's still better than many chat clients that are now becoming popular like Slack."
"It's hard to remember how good it was. I was really excited about our wave-enabled future."
What Lived On
Wave died, but its DNA spread across the industry.
"It's like how Google Docs' concurrent editing was born from the ashes of Google Wave."@nayuki, 2023 →
"Slack is re-doing Google Wave in such a way that people can understand it."@babuskov, 2016 →
"We're trialling Notion for some things. Whenever we use it I think: Google Wave tried to do this."@danpalmer, 2019 →
So What?
What 15 years of Wave nostalgia teaches us about product strategy.
Launch with your core users together
Wave's invite system was designed for hype, not utility. You can't test a collaboration tool when collaborators can't get in. If your product requires network effects, your launch strategy must enable them.
Being right is not enough
Wave's vision was correct — Slack proved it. But vision without execution is just a demo. The best product ideas lose to worse ideas with better distribution every time.
Don't kill what you don't understand
Google killed Wave because "not enough users." But those users were passionate advocates. Sometimes a small, devoted user base is the seed of something massive. Ask Slack.
The Verdict
Google Wave wasn't killed by user confusion. It was killed by a launch strategy that made it impossible to succeed.
Every generation of collaboration tools since 2010 has been compared to Wave. Slack, Notion, Teams, Discord — all inherit its DNA. The ghost haunts every product launch in this space.
The Wave Lesson: A revolutionary product with the wrong distribution strategy is just a demo. Google proved you could build the future of collaboration — and then made it impossible to use. Slack learned from that mistake. That's why Slack is worth billions, and Wave is a cautionary tale HN still tells 15 years later.
"Wave was closer to natural human conversation. Slack is closer to a traditional forum with a different UI. Wave was a leap forward. Slack maybe a baby step."@chiefalchemist, 2018 →
HN Zeitgeist — 2,000 comments. 17 years. One ghost that won't stop haunting.