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Google today announced Google Wave, a new application at their I/O Conference. Google Wave is currently still in a preview beta, but the internet is already abuzz with the possibilities for the future and this exciting new application.

The top draw of Google Wave will be having all of your online communication in one place. From email to instant messaging, to social networking and even shared workspaces Google Wave combines them all. One person starts a Wave, and then invites others to come share in real time, be it photos, games, chat, and more.

One distinct aspect of the Wave that I am looking forward to is the open-source capabilities of the application. User created content is a key to popularity, the iPhone App Store is a prime example. One of the reasons Firefox became the second most popular browser is because of its compatibility with user-created plug-ins. Google Wave will be no different, and we’ve already seen a Twitter plug-in beta from the I/O conference today.

Another interesting feature of Google Wave will be the ability to drag and drop pictures, music, and other files directly from your desktop into the Google Wave UI. No more resaving, resizing, and loading images – if you want to create a photo album you simply drag the pictures you want right into your browser.

What will this mean for social media and search marketing? Though it’s too early to tell for sure, it’s pretty much guaranteed this will be a future new Google channel for marketers to consider. And with the Facebook-like social aspect, Google will be sure to offer targeting for many different demographics similar to the way Facebook advertising does now.

Needless to say, I’m excited about the potential of this application, and I am very much looking forward to additional information coming out of Google in the next few months. The application is slated for a 2010 release, though certain select software developers are already getting their feet wet with the product. We can expect to see some exciting things ahead with Google Wave.

Check out a preview of Google Wave and let us know what you think about this new application.