The Geekorium

Home of Rex Havoc, Space Adventurer and other assorted Geekeries.

  1. Wave This API released. Plus Official Chrome Extension and Bonus Unofficial WordPress Widget

    A few weeks ago, I noticed a new feature of Google Wave that allowed a user to easily send websites and content to a new wave to easily share with others. The feature (called “Wave This”) was not officially announced at the time, and I was asked politely not to say anything more at the time until the team could officially announce it.

    wave-this-buttons.png

    In addition to this, the Wave This function has an official Chrome Extension. Install the extension, and you can send any page to Wave with a click!

    Finally, you can also use an undocumented Wave This feature to add a Wave contact button to your sites. At the top of my page I’ve added a “Wave @ me!” button that starts a new wave with me as a participant so you can easily contact me in Google Wave. To add the button to your own site it’s as easy as filling your details in the code below:

    <a href="https://wave.google.com/wave/wavethis?t=Contact+via+[Your-Site-Name]&r=[fill-in-your-@-wave-address-here]" title="Contact me in Google Wave" class="vt-p"><img src="[your-button-image]" alt="Wave at me!"></a>

    The &r parameter for adding a recipient isn’t listed on the API page and support might be pulled or altered so use at your own risk. Additionally, be aware that the Wave This function currently defaults to the Google Wave Preview account only, so if you use a different client (a Google Wave for Domain Apps account for instance, or Novell Pulse) you’re out of luck for now.

    So there you have it! A new API, an awesome function, and my modest widget. Have at it! Make some buttons!! Start spreading Wave!!!

  2. Find Local Waves

    By now if you’ve been using Wave long enough you should know that a search for [with:public] gets you a big long fast updating list of all the Waves that people have shared with the world. If you’ve been reading the Complete Guide to Google Wave you might know to narrow down the search with tags and terms too.

    But were you aware that Local Waves have popped up everywhere as well, and you can find users near you just by plugging your city/suburb into the search (with the public wave search) eg. [with:public city name]. If you can’t immediately find a Wave for your location, you can start one! Just create a crafty title, and make the Wave public. Encourage people who join to mark themselves on a map, and shout out their Twitter/social details for people to connect elsewhere.

    Have a tonne of fun, and stay safe!

  5. “Crazy Crossbreed”

    Wave feels like some crazy crossbreed of Docs, Gmail, and IM, but I overall I find that refreshing more than troubling.
    Debating the power of Google’s Wave.

    CNET Editor Rafe Needleman and Senior Writer Stephen Shankland debate the Google Wave product. Their assessment is that there are some rough edges, and some questions it raises about information overload, but overall the preview is a solid start to a new idea.

  7. Wave Preview at the Google I/O Developer Conferencee

    Google Wave was recently announced at the Google I/O developer conference. This is an amazing video and well worth the hour and twenty it will take you to watch it. If you’d like to know what the future of web communication might look like, you can get a head start right here.