More specifically, individual invites. They were a smart what to roll out Gmail, which could be used on an individual basis (i.e. I don't need all my friends to

More specifically, individual invites. They were a smart what to roll out Gmail, which could be used on an individual basis (i.e. I don't need all my friends to sign up before I can start using it). But isolated invites to a collaboration platform? That is jaw-droppingly thoughtless. Had Google adapted the strategy to the product by ensuring that invites went to people who already worked together as a group (i.e. established partners on a research project, members of the same design agency etc.), then the fate of Wave may have been very different. But by making such a galacticly dumb opening move, they left smart people wondering "what other major problems have gone totally unaddressed? And do I want to invest an hour? a day? an entire weekend? to find out? By myself?" And with that, they lost all support from the early adopters willing and able to validate the concept, replacing it with a bunch of bad buzz (no pun intended) that poisoned the whole thing.