A Google Wave Invite Rundown

You are still reading, and with that being the case, it is safe to assume that you've at least heard a bit about google wave. And, in hearing about it, you probably did a bit more digging then saw that there is an invitation process involved before you can use it.

Since then, you may have already received your invite, are still waiting for your invite, or have no idea how to get one. No matter which of the three situation fits you, there will be something useful to take away from this lens. And, being that not everyone is in the same situation, the lens is broken down accordingly.

You open your inbox and find a google wave invitation beaming at you. You contain your excitement a bit so that your hand is not too shaky as you go to follow the link contained in it that will activate wonderful gift.

After registration, you notice that the contacts from your gmail account have been scanned and google lists contacts who are also wavers in the lower left side panel.

If you joined google wave before any of your contacts have or if your gmail account is newly created, you won't be set to wave to certain people just yet.

This realization makes you sad - or, at least, it made me sad. I felt like waving alone was like listening to the sound of one hand clapping.

So naturally, you'd like to have more people on board - and specific people at that. Well, here is where it gets tricky. Not all wave invitations are created equal. If you received a wave invitation from google itself, it encourages you to spread the love! Your wave inbox will contain a wave that allows you to send out nominations to have new people join.

On the other hand, if a friend of yours sent you a wave invitation, you are kinda out of luck. I say that because google will hold back on allowing you to invite new people right away. You have to sit tight and wait until they open things up a bit. Google says to expect a wait time of about a few weeks.

         Expected Wait Time

As of the end of November, the wait time for recipients to receive their wave invitation emails after nominations have been sent out is down to about 1-3 days. Great news, huh?

Here's the news - the original batch of developer sandbox invitees as well as the 100,000 preview invitees have all received their invites by now. And, with that being the case, if you are still waiting for your google-sourced wave invitation, it means that either you put yourself on the google waiting list at some point since October or you are expecting one that waving a friend has added your email address for.

The folks you know who are in a position to help you get on board have received a message that says:

Which means that basically, you have to wait a bit longer. In the past, when folks invited others to use google services (i.e. - such as in the early days of gmail), the invitation was sent out right away. This time around, google is being careful to gradually open the system up to help avoid having everything crash! Specifically...

      Why The Process
       Is A Bit Difficult

Let's not forget that this is a "preview"... a beta, an early version of the system. As such, bugs are being fixed along the way. It is much easier to stay on top of fixing things if there is an overall manageable amount of people using it.

There are quite a few websites that have been set up just to scam people who are trying to get a wave invitation.

Firstly, google wave invites are free, so if someone is asking money for it (even on ebay), that's actually not allowed. You can go ahead in that direction, but trust me, you're off on a sketchy start if you do. I'd be very very cautious.

I'd also be cautious if a website asks for your email address and a bunch of OTHER personal details. Actually, as a general rule, it's good practice to be weary of listing your email address openly on a website ANYWAY, as puts your inbox at risk for spam. But be even more cautious if they also want the password, your name, credit card, etc.

There are few specific points, since each scam is slightly different. At the end of the day, all you can do is use your own personal judgment on this thing.

Let's not forget that this is a "preview"... a beta, an early version of the system. As such, bugs are being fixed along the way. It is much easier to stay on top of fixing things if there is an overall manageable amount of people using it.