It isn’t completely clear how quickly these invites, or nominations as they are called, reach the intended recipient as invites aren’t sent out instantly, so I’m assuming it is simply a way of adding people to the next round of invites sent out by Google. So, who do I invite?

Twitter isn’t short of people begging for an invite, but I’m going to ignore them (sorry folks). I want people on my contact list that are going to make this Wave experience interesting. I want people that are going to see past the demonstration user interface and are going to focus on the possibilities that the Wave architecture introduces. But this still doesn’t narrow it down enough. And so I’m going to focus the invites around one of my longer term interests, and that is learning Mandarin Chinese. How can the potential of Google Wave be used to enhance language learning on the web? Think beyond the obvious, and yes there are at least two translation bots already in existence.

Confused? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. If you have no idea what Google Wave is and want to know what all this hype is about I suggest you take a look at the following few links.

• Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009 (Google)
  – It’s nerdy and long, but well worth a watch if you get time.
• Google Wave: A Complete Guide (Mashable)
• Google Wave Questions and Answers (Lifehacker)
• Google Wave 101 (Lifehacker)
  – Probably more use after you get an account.

So you want an invite?

All you have to do is leave some thoughts in the comments on how Google Wave can be used to improve language learning on (or off) the web. There are bonus points for ideas that focus on learning Mandarin Chinese specifically. I’m genuinely intrigued to hear what people think. Is this another web fad that will pass within months, or is there great untapped potential buried in the Wave concept?

If you already have a Wave account, feel free to add me as a contact (billgloveruk) and we can continue this discussion on a Wave.