Just a few days ago I was elated to receive an invi­ta­tion to try Google Wave.

Google Wave is the lat­est from Google and described as a tool for com­mu­ni­ca­tion and col­lab­o­ra­tion. Essentially, Google has com­bined free e-mail, free instant mes­sag­ing and free richly for­mat­ted text doc­u­ments into one ser­vice that allows a group of peo­ple to share and edit var­i­ous types of information.

Google allowed only a lim­ited review in an effort to pre­vent bugs and to develop and improve the sys­tem with user feed­back. Limited invi­ta­tions and a “word of mouth” buzz was a help­ful bit of marketing.

Anxiously I’ve been wait­ing to receive my invite for the chance to join those lem­mings ready to leap from the cliff and immerse myself in the great, deep oppor­tu­nity of a wave.

But surely I can’t be this excited about a pro­gram that would allow me to work more. At a col­lege news­pa­per where col­lab­o­ra­tion between sev­eral peo­ple and dif­fer­ent view­points are taken into account and shared, Google Wave could really lighten the work­load and improve the over­all product.

That’s what excites me. In the way that a stay-at-home-mom is elated at the prospect of a front load­ing wash­ing machine, Google Wave will likely make the work that I do less tax­ing and more dynamic. And this is a sign of get­ting older and being career-minded. Anything that will make your job and there­fore, your life, eas­ier is a gift.

While Wave poten­tially could make news­pa­pers, offices and numer­ous other busi­nesses eas­ier and more effi­cient, it’s still no sub­sti­tute for know­ing your job, doing your work and doing it well. As the semes­ter winds down, don’t leave it to the eas­i­est or fastest solu­tion. Dig in and don’t be afraid to go against the current.