What we have here is shrinkage: shorter times to update, shorter updates themselves, by word in translation, or by character in live typing.

Any time we see an acceleration of realtime transmission like this, we witness a revolution. With the telegram, then email, texting, instant messaging, Twitter, and now multi-party live typing and translation.

So much more of which we have not yet dreamed awaits us.

The 140 character limit shaped Twitter and the short format. The limitations of this new “cursor presence” will shape Google Wave and the carrier signals that follow.

When you are typing in a Wave and your cohorts can see every action, the lessons of 140 characters matter even more. Your skills as a writer using Facebook and Twitter will shine in this new medium. Google Wave exposes your abilities even more clearly, and even helps you learn via playback, automation, and live translation.

Twitter is elemental.

Google Wave is atomic.

Be ready to learn from this new mode of writing and collaborating, and bid adieu to email as we know it. Nothing can really replace Twitter at this point, but we may soon have the perfect companion.

For the skeptics: watch to see if the experience degrades gracefully across devices. Consider Twitter or your service of choice to be your platform, the board that carries you across this wave. Don’t let go, but get ready for a wild ride.