Google Sidewiki: Like It Or Not, Your Website Just Became Interactive

Check out the video above released by Google, demonstrating their new product, Sidewiki.  This is a pretty clever product - while I don't know for certain, I imagine it is built into the Google Chrome browser (UPDATE: bookmarklets now exist for Chrome; thanks to the commenter in getting me motivated), and currently, add ons are available for Firefox and Internet Explorer as a part of the Google Toolbar.  My suspicion is that this is part of Google's long term roll out plans for Google Wave, as they want more people to become accustomed to using wikis - but in the immediate, this has some important ramifications.

What Google has essentially done is forced every website in the world into a web 2.0 system, whether they like it or not.  Sidewiki creates user generated feedback and content relating to any website - period.  It doesn't matter whether your website wants that feedback - it gets it no matter what, hosted right there alongside your own content.  If people are unhappy with your layout or content, they can voice that disapproval without any control from the website administrator, and by simply clicking a button, web visitors can display those comments out in the open.

This is a niche technology, sure - most likely, it will be adopted by folks most apt to use social networking tools and wikis already.  But Wave is certain to incorporate similar elements, as will the Chrome operating system and browser.  This isn't going away - and is likely to become more and more popular.  Google has a tendency to popularize software.

I think this is a game changer.  Organizations can no longer say "we don't want to live in a web 2.0 world, we'd rather control our content entirely and not let individuals interact with our website."  Well, too bad - now, they're going to do it anyway.  The question is, will you respond and become proactive, or will you sit back and let visitors control the narrative about your online properties?

By paying attention to this early, organizations can start to control the narrative within Google Sidewiki about their content.  It also provides unique opportunities for non-profits, advocacy organizations, and politicians: just think, you can add content through Sidewiki to websites of your competitors or rivals that clarifies misleading or damaging information.  You can supplement other websites that don't cross-reference you when they should, or that have incomplete information that you can improve upon.  But better get ahead of it now - my guess is this technology is only going to get more popular, and the chance to begin to control the narrative starts right now.