Giving away one Google Wave invite (or two)
[A quick note for the lazy: read at least the "But how?" section below. It explains what you need to do to qualify for the giveaway]
So, Google Wave is quickly reaching a stage of being actually useful for daily communication. I've used it for planning trips and dinner parties, coordinating server maintenance, doing collaborative translation and just generally chatting, with varying levels of success.
I got my invite to the sandbox (a developer preview, not integrated with the rest of Google's services) after attending Google Developer Day São Paulo. I played around for a while, but it was too unstable. A few weeks later it had improved considerably, so I started using it again. But too few people I knew were there, and its use as a communications tool was therefore obviously impaired.
A few weeks ago, then, Google promoted Wave to http://wave.google.com, and there was much rejoicing. As a sandbox user, I got an invite to it, and with it 8 more to give away. I distributed them to a few close friends, but ended up with one left!
And that's the one you might get :)
"But how?"
[updated about 1h after originally posting, to correct the rules]
It's really simple. After a long period of inactivity, I've resumed writing on isnomore.net. There are currently two posts (not counting this one): one about programming Python on the Android, and a recipe for Spaghetti alla Carbonara. So, access isnomore.net's RSS feed on Google Reader and pick the one you like best. Then "like" it (by clicking the proper button at the bottom of the appropriate post, on the Reader screen), and share this post (the one you're reading right now).
To make it clear: you should "like" one of the other two posts currently published ("Pushing up Python on Android" or "Spaghetti alla Carbonara"), and share this one ("Giving away one Google Wave invite (or two)"). You may also share and like others at will, but that's the minimum to qualify for the giveaway.
Important: if you "share" and "like" from someone's shared items, or some other address you might have (if you used to subscribe to this site's old feed, for instance), it won't show up on my count and I can't know you've done it! So the safest bet is to go straight to the feed on Google Reader and choose from there (like so). In any event, if you feel that there is any confusion, let me know.
Within three days (that is, on Saturday the 24th of October) I'll collect a list of the people who've liked any of the articles and pick one at random. If that person has also shared the article, they get the invite (otherwise, I'll just pick another one from the list, and so on). I'll post the results here on Saturday, and I'll also contact whoever was selected via their Google account (if you want me to use a different email, let me know in the comments or "Share with note" and leave a comment to that effect there).
"What if I share and like both articles?"
Well, you'll make me very happy, please do! But it won't improve your chances, I'm afraid.
"I already have a Wave account (or don't want one), but I'd like an invite for a friend"
Sure, no problem. If you are selected, just let me know the email to which I should send the invite.
"But I don't have a Google Reader account!"
Well, a Google Reader account is just a regular Google account. If you've never used Reader, just give it a try, it's really simple. If you don't have a Google account at all, you'll need one for Google Wave anyway, so you might as well create it now!
"If I'm picked, how long until I have a Google Wave account?"
That's not up to me. Google Wave invites actually mean Google will know that someone invited you when the time comes for them to offer a new round of accounts. But they don't say when that will happen, or even whether everyone on the current invite list will get an account on the next round. In practice, accounts have been handed out at a relatively high pace, but I can't be sure.
All I can promise is that I'll put your email address on my invitation list as soon as you confirm it.
"Wait, the title said or two!"
That's right. I might have an additional invite. It's a bit of a long story, but I can't be sure. So, if it turns out that I do, I'll pick two people. Otherwise, that's just one lucky winner :)
"But... But... I am your friend and didn't get an invite from you! I even asked on Twitter!"
Calm down, don't be offended. First of all, most of my invites went to the people with whom I exchanged the most emails and instant messages. Makes sense, right? Besides, some of the people to whom I had promised invites ended up not needing them (having received one by other means), so I didn't know from the start I still had invites left.
Finally, I specifically avoided giving them out to people asking around on Twitter (as opposed to asking me personally). Asking in broadcast mode meant that, by the time I invited you, someone else might have also done so. From my experience with the other people I've invited, multiple invites don't seem to make your account arrive any sooner. As Google Wave invites are currently somewhat scarce, that would be a waste of one, which would be a shame. And I want the highest number of people on Wave, the sooner the better.
"I have more questions! You can't predict and fake-quote them all!"
True. Leave me a comment!
And good luck! See you on the Wave :)
Syndicated 2009-10-21 03:39:36 from Bits of rbp - isnomore.net