At first I thought: Huh?

One look at the demo and I was completely and utterly confused. But here’s the concept in a nutshell:

Google Wave is a new service that blends email, instant messaging, file sharing, and software collaboration into one giant messaging center.

I lifted this screen shot from Google in an effort to provide a clearer picture of Wave. And in case you haven’t heard – and you probably have- Wave is Google’s answer to the question: “What would e-mail look like if we invented it from scratch today?”

It’s kind of cool in a chaotic sort of way. You can’t help but to sit and take it all in – and that’s precisely what developers and industry observers are doing.

When developers first caught a glimpse of Wave at Google I/O they were giddy. The big reveal was compared to the Apple iPhone unveiling – and it had developers there wondering what Google Wave would allow them to create.  The potential apps are endless.

As for industry observers, well CNet’s Matt Asay bluntly indicated that Google Wave – with all of its promise –  is a shining example of just how poor most enterprise software remains.

Google Wave – It is the wave of our Internet future.

What’s next? The Google Wave app store?

Poor Microsoft Bing. It doesn’t have a prayer.