Introducing the Google Wave Extensions Gallery

By Chelsi Nakano | Published Mar 12, 2010 Comments

Erm, remember Google Wave? You know, that thing with all the things, and the chatting and the e-mailing, and the collaboration. Well, it just got more things. Google introduced the Google Wave Extensions Gallery bright and early this morning. Developers? For the sake of Wave, please get on this.

The Gallery

Note: Google Wave already had a couple of extensions, but this new gallery will work to cast a much wider net by collecting tools and add-ons from the developer community. Today, there are more than 15 extensions available, including a gadget that enables users to “like” and “dislike” content posted by their friends. (Did you hear that Facebook? A dislike option!)

Here’s a complete list of what the gallery has to offer as of this morning:

Wave Sudoku
Extension Installer (for developers only)
Colcrop (game)
Yellow highlighter (highlight text)
Napkin gadget (for doodles)
Waffle (date-picker)
Iframe gadget (embed webpages in a Wave)
Yes/No/Maybe gadget
Map gadget
Video Chat Experience
Phone Conference
Mind Map gadget (collaborate on diagrams)
Likey gadget
Pollo gadget (for surveys)
Take-out gadget (for ordering out)
AccuWeather

If you Build it, They Might Come

Though the original announcement of Wave was met with much gusto, it doesn’t look like it's going to replace e-mail any time soon. In fact, statistics say most people lost interest in the collaboration tool roughly six months after they started begging the Internet for invites. But, perhaps a boost in options will result in a boost in users. Moreover, we expect to see an even greater increase in innovative activity surrounding this solution as Wave gets closer to officially being added to the Google family of apps.

At best, it seems Wave is set to become Google's niche scenario option. And while that's not nearly the everything-else killer it was once positioned as, it will certainly fill the gaps between the rest of mighty G's many solutions.

In the mood to innovate? Before you can get your submission in the gallery, Google asks that you turn it in for approval here. Oh, and don't forget about the new Google Wave API.