Google Wave, It's Spin Into Being and It's Failure | A Great Case Study in Innovation Failure If Anyone Involved Will Talk.
This story is a particular interesting one because it had the support of some extremely high profile organisations in Australia, in particularly the Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering that is wholely owned by the University of Sydney. Loudly proclaiming the success of Google Wave and its inventors. the Rasmussen brothers, the Warren Centre promoted it as their presitigious 2009 Innovation Lecture saying "...By attending the lecture you will not only gain a rare insider’s view of how this potentially world dominating technology has achieved what it has, you will also gain an insight into the very particular culture of Google that attracts, engages and inspires people to give of their best...." Here are some excerpts from this lecture. The video is worth viewing in light of what has occurred.