Thursday, November 5 12:00 AM ET

Google Opens Google Invite to Invites

By Brian Briggs follow me on Twitter.

Mountain View, CA – Google announced a new product called Google Invite.  Right now, Google Invite is an invite-only product, which Google frequently does for early versions of its products. 

(click for larger image)

"With Google Invite each user will be given three invites that they can hand out for Google Invite," said product manager Ayush Patel from Google. "We're rolling out the invites, so keep an eye on your Google Invite control panel."

Patel didn't reveal how many initial invites had been given out to seed the product, but said it was a very small number.  "It could take a while before everyone who wants an invite, gets one," said Patel.

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Google Invite.  The interface follows the simple user interface found in most Google products (see screen grab).  I played with it for a few hours, and came away impressed.  As usual, Google identified a need for a product and executed it flawlessly.

Unfortunately, it was only a test account, so I'll have to wait for my invite just like everyone else.

As with Google Wave and Google Voice, Google Invite invites are a hot commodity.  Requests for invites are popping up all over Twitter, Facebook and blogs.  One lucky invitee is auctioning off his invite on eBay.

Tim Boston of the popular TechScrunch blog thinks Google Invite will beat all other invite services.  "Frankly, I don't know of any other product like this," said Boston.

If you're confused by what exactly Google Invite is, don't worry.  Gina Trapani of This Week in Google and SmarterWare.org is working on the definitive Google Invite manual, which should be available shortly.