idealist.org

Google Wave in the Nonprofit World

By Scott Stadum.


Google Wave can be hard to describe, even for the people that have been using it for a few months. I've heard it described as an email-instant messenger-wiki hybrid, which is close. You also have the ability to embed certain applications built for the platform, like maps, videos and collaboration tools.

As more people find Wave invites in their inbox, they begin to experiment and find novel uses. Lifehacker has a great list of interesting uses beyond the obvious email and IM approach, including:

• Healthcare: Getting the H1N1 Vaccine Out Faster
• Transportation: Controlling Air Traffic
• Creative Pursuits: Collaborative Storytelling
• Disaster Relief: Saving People Stuck on Rooftops

Readwriteweb.com also goes into detail on using Google Wave in the arts and education. And the service was recently used in the manhunt to pursue the suspect in the Seattle police officer shootings.

One novel use I've been thinking of for the nonprofit sector involves Google Wave as the backbone for groups across social networks.

Many altruistic groups discuss similar topics across the various social networks though these conversations tend to take place in a closed silo. Imagine if we were to replace the technology used to run these groups with Google Wave and then used the same wavelet (an instance of a Google Wave) across networks like Kiva, Idealist, Care2 and others?

Let's say you wanted to discuss a topic like micro-loans in Indonesia, and you usually use Care2. You could stay on Care2 while engaging people on Kiva and Idealist in the discussion. Aside from the benefit of increasing dialogue and sharing ideas, users could coordinate actions across networks and collaborate on initiatives using the same wavelet.

A second interesting use would be to replace activity streams, like those on Facebook or FriendFeed, with Google Wave. By using Google Wave you could show all of your Facebook Causes activities on your wall while using that exact same wavelet on DonorsChoose and Care2. You would expose ideas and opportunities for action to people across different networks while opening up dialogue beyond the walls of your favored network.

Google Wave is still in beta and has a long way to go before it officially launches, but there's a lot of potential. What other ways might we leverage Google Wave? I'd love to hear your thoughts.