Following the deafening silence from the Internet community and calls that last year’s hyped platform is dead, Google is working to improve its beta version of Wave.

It’s no secret that I’m a Wave fan.  I’m also realistic.  Google has to make  many improvements. Here are some of the developments:

As I’ve recommended,  it is important to keep up with new activity on your Waves. One solution is to install a browser plug-in. I’m using the Firefox plug-in for Wave.

Hyped as the e-mail killer, Google Wave is now using e-mail to keep users up-to-date with their accounts. To add e-mail notifications, look for the settings next to the inbox icon. I believe this is a smart move and should benefit all users.

In January, Google also added a read-only function to Wave. Previously, all Waves had read and write functions, which allowed people to make changes to any Wave to which they had access.  This is part of the appeal of Wave. When you make a Wave public, however, this can lead to problems. Another nice feature:  click on the individual members of a Wave to adjust their access.

Google also improved the history function by creating a restore option.  Not only can you view the history of a Wave, but also you can restart the Wave at a previous point in its history.

The Google team says it plans on adding a reply only option too.  This would allow users to add and adjust their comments without affecting the rest of the Wave. (I think that concept is also called a blog.)

I like Google’s improvements. Although speed is still an issue, it seems to be getting a little better.  If you have not tried Google Wave,  give it a shot.  Collaborate on a project. Plan an event with friends or family.  Share information with the Wave community or plan a photo shoot with other people.  The uses are endless once you understand the basic concept of this collaborative tool.

Rosh