The buzz surrounding Google Wave has subsided a little since the project was first announced last May, but Google is still expanding the user base for Wave, and will let 100,000 more users preview the product starting this week.
Wave, a desktop-like client that lets multiple users exchange messages, play games, and share documents and photos with each other, has only been available to a small group of developers since it was announced earlier this year. A post on the official Google blog says the product is most useful when used with friends and family, so current testers are being asked to nominate possible invitees. The group of 100,000 new users will also include more developers, Google fans who signed up early to test Wave, and select customers of Google Apps.
One reason Wave's audience is expanding so slowly is that the product isn't ready to leave the sandbox yet. Google admits Wave is still somewhat sluggish and "quirky," and right now the Wave team is focusing on scalability, stability, speed, and usability.
Wave's slow rollout makes it difficult to tell exactly what sort of effect it will have. Some believe Wave's structure of ongoing conversations could essentially change email. Yet to others, Wave is still something of a mystery, with its true potential yet to be revealed.
