Common Paradox Tech Blog

Now that Google Wave has opened up to one million users and there are countless unused invites floating around, just about anyone who wants to take Google’s new collaboration tool for a spin can do so. Sure, some users are disappointed with the platform, but if you’re among them you’ll have to admit that whether it’s going to catch on or not, it’s been used for some neat stuff.

Four uses in particular have stood out for their cleverness and high fun factor, and you probably didn’t see any of them coming. Each has gotten a lot of press, so if you’ve been following Wave closely you might have heard of them.

We’d like to hear about more fun uses for Wave. Have your friends or colleagues come up with anything creative? Read these examples, then tell us if you have any ideas for exciting new applications.

1. Manhunt

A Washington man was suspected of shooting four police officers, but when he evaded capture, a state-wide search began. That’s a regular story, but this time a new tool was used. The Seattle Times created a public wave where readers, officers, and journalists could post and update information that might lead to the alleged shooter’s capture.

The Wave received photos of the suspect, sightings, a description of what was believed to be his vehicle, evidence, and updates from the police radio. The Times also set up a Google Map with place markers for important events and locations in the manhunt.

2. The Declaration of Independence

When Wave was first announced, a lot of people were having trouble sussing out what it could be used for. O’Reilly Media founder Tim O’Reilly suggested a great demonstration tool to Wave designer Lars Rasmussen: Dramatization of the drafting of famous historical documents in Wave.

The Declaration of Independence was used, and if you have a Wave account, you can take a look at the wave and see the edits as they happen. Many of the fake changes are humorous — for example, the first pass at the opener says “we hold these truths to be awesome” rather than “self-evident” — and they illustrate Wave’s strengths well.

3. Role Playing Games

Role playing games were among the first traditions geeks ported to networks. Since then they’ve been played through e-mail, instant messaging, social networks, and virtual worlds. It was inevitable that they’d make their way to Wave as well.

It turns out the platform is well-suited for them. Players and game masters can easily embed supplements like maps, statistics, dice rollers, and character portraits. Players can start private in-character conversations between one another, and game masters can relay information to specific characters. Play-by-e-mail RPGs have been popular for a long time, but thanks to all the extra tools and the real-time functionality, play-by-wave RPGs have a good chance of achieving even more success.

There’s a wave out there that was created to list all the RPGs currently running on the platform, so go and check that out to get started if you’re into that sort of thing.

4. Pulp Wave Fiction & Good Wave Hunting

These videos went viral when they debuted; watching them is like watching Wave widgets do interpretive dances to the dialog and events in two famous scenes from American cinema. These aren’t actually useful, but they’re without a doubt the most popular and entertaining items on the list. Watch the videos here, but be warned that this is Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting we’re talking about; the dialog is probably NSFW.

These have been the best examples we’ve seen so far, but have you heard about any more creative or entertaining uses for Wave? Let us know in the comments.

More Google Wave resources from Mashable

- HOW TO: Get Started with Google Wave

- Google Wave: A Complete Guide

- Testing Google Wave: This Thing is Tidal

- The Top 6 Game-Changing Features of Google Wave

- Google Wave: 5 Ways It Could Change the Web

- Google Wave Extensions: An Inside Look

- Could Google Wave Redefine Email and Web Communication?

Tags: Google, Google Wave, List, Lists, trending

A Google Wave started by the Seattle Times is being used to track information about the search for a man suspected of killing four police officers. It’s the first Google-supported manhunt and finally a decent use for Wave. Update 6.

Due to Google Wave’s real time updating capabilities, this is actually a rather fitting use. People are posting everything they know, from information about the suspect (right down to his old pictures and Twitter accounts) to news from police scanners. A Google Map of the manhunt is also being maintained with the major events of the search.

We’ll keep updating as new details appear for those wanting to keep up (and those without a Google Wave account). [Google Wave via Techcrunch]

Update 1:

Officers on alert at “every exit route out of Washington” looking for officer shooting suspect (source: @seattlepi)

Update 2: Miscellaneous information currently known about the suspect:

Suspect Description:
Maurice Clemmons
(Suspect may be using alias w/fake WA ID for Carsile Dawson)

2004 photo
Twitter photo

Suspect Vehicle Description:
green 1997 Mazda Millenia, WA license [License plate number removed, see update 5]
(vehicle is registered to suspect’s wife)

Twitter account

Update 3: Note that a tip line is open for anyone with information regarding the shooting or the suspect’s whereabouts: 866-977-236

Update 4:

Suspect reported near 13th and Lander.

Update 5:

Police no longer looking for ‘97 Mazda Millenia – WSP Trooper Brandy Kessler says it was sold 2 months ago (source: @KIRO7Seattle)

Update 6: The 13th and Lander report was deemed unrelated to this search.

Apparently, like everyone else, the Seattle Times is very interested in trying to figure out what to actually use Google Wave for. But while most are trying to use it for either fun, realtime chats, movie reenactments, or inner-business workings, the Seattle Times have tasked Wave with a larger goal: Catching a killer.

This public Google Wave has been set up to involve the community by offering realtime information that anyone may know about the location of a man suspected of killing four Seattle police officers. A search of a Seattle-area home this morning turned up nothing, but various reports of sightings are coming in, and the Times is opening a Wave to help with the flow of information.

Wired writer Evan Ratliff spent 27 days in constant fear of getting caught as a small army of amateur and professional investigators hunted him. He had a bounty on his head and the Internet nipping at his heels.

Vanish, a combination of a manhunt and an experiment, began at 5:38 pm on August 14, 2009 as a bold headline on Wired proclaimed “Author Evan Ratliff Is on the Lam. Locate Him and Win $5,000.” We would discover if someone could disappear in today’s world, or whether the electronic trails from ATM, email, and cell phone usage would give him away.

Of course, in Evan’s case it wasn’t just a few concerned family members or police officers looking. It was any person on the Internet whose curiosity was aroused, either by the sheer challenge or by the bounty. Any and all traceable information would be shared over the next few weeks. Soon Evan’s phone records, credit card statements, IP dumps, interviews with friends, and anything that his hunters could dig up would be posted on Twitter, Facebook, and Wired’s own site.

The end goal for the hunters was to locate Evan, photograph him after giving the codeword “fluke,” and then submitting that photo along with a codeword Evan would provide to Wired. And after 27 long days, someone did just that. Evan was caught.

You can read the entire tale here. As you do, consider whether Evan made any genuine mistakes or whether his capture was simply inevitable. Is there a way to disappear, without giving up travel and technology? How would you do it? [Wired]

Baby Gets Hit By Train, Strolls Away…There’s a Hole In My Heart That Can Only Be Filled By—Stem Cells?…Beware Bobbies Bearing BlackBerries…Science Figures Out Why We Break Out Bubbly

Sure it’s been the lead story on CNN and a big story on Gawker, but there just wasn’t enough DIY mechanics or cellphone-related mayhem for us to pounce on this little gem. As a dad, I don’t like seeing shit like this, but knowing there’s a happy ending made it a bit easier to view. Oops, did I give too much away? [Gawker]

Hairband balladeers from the roaring ’80s will be disappointed to learn that holes in the heart previously only able to be filled by some girl who is already dating some other guy can now be filled by a patch made of stem cells. As for the rest of us, we naturally assumed that if stem cells could give Christopher “Butthole” Reeve real Superman strength and build replica’s of Shakey’s Pizza, well, of course they can patch heart holes. [PopSci]

By March of next year, many British police officers will be handed a smartphone in order to maintain communication while increasing time in the field. It may work, assuming they block like a million distractions. Frankly, the only reason I wanted to even mention this in Remainders was to remind the world of that stroke of British police genius, Hot Fuzz, through Photoshop. It was that or an image of the gmilfy Prime Suspect herself, Helen Mirren. Did I choose wrong? [BBC via Engadget]

Science produces explanations great and small, and finally got around to one we’ve been waiting for since Heinrich “Coca” Cola invented the fizzy beverage: Why do we love the carbonation? Everyone used to think it was the exploding carbonation bubbles, but sure enough, it’s the carbon dioxide itself—you listening, Al Gore???—that sends a message to open up the sour taste buds, delivering a genuine flavor change. Sure, it’s not gadget news, but now, when you head out to the bars, you can order beer in the name of science. [Daily Mail UK]

A must-have iPhone application for people who drive a lot is Trapster – the app for avoiding speed traps. Or a better description by Paul Carr before he was fired from The Guardian: “Yes, that’s Trapster: the mobile distraction for when driving at high speed isn’t fucking dangerous enough.”

But anyway, Trapster is available on the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Mobile and Nokia/Symbian (I wouldn’t be surprised to see it for Palm in the near future, either). It’s had more than 1 million downloads, and is “getting about 50,000 downloads a day right now” to add to that.

Which just makes it all the more valuable. Trapster relies on users to report speed traps when they see them, making the road safe for other Trapster users who come later. The more users, the more data, and the safer the roads are for speeders.

It’s one of my personal favorites. And before anyone freaks out about how this encourages speeding, don’t. The site has endorsements from various police officers and organizations, such as “If someone slows down because of (Trapster), it’s accomplishing the same goal of trying to get people to obey the speed limit.” But Carr, in the link above, has a good point – the real danger is all the people grabbing their phone to add in a new speed trap. Jon Stewart says it best in the video below: