The Macrosite for News, Analysis and Opinion about the Future of the Internet
Nicole Ferraro

Four Reasons to Shun Google Lively

Written by Nicole Ferraro
7/9/2008 11 comments
no ratings
DISCUSS     Email This

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)'s endeavors in Web 2.0 have usually proven to be one consistent disappointment after another. And after toying around with it for a while, its new virtual world Lively doesn't promise to be any different.

Lively, the latest addition to Google Labs, is Google's attempt at creating virtual chat rooms that can be embedded on any other Website. On paper, it sounds interesting. Users will be able to create their own rooms, decorate them with photos from Picasa and videos from YouTube, and easily embed their custom-made rooms into their blogs and Websites. Rooms can hold up to 20 avatars, which can then engage in chatter and stomp around the room together. Good. Times.

Unfortunately, though, messing around with Google Lively proved a miserable morning for me. After downloading the necessary plugin (sigh), I created my kitty avatar, found a chat room with some 3-D strangers (a library!), and started chatting it up. Not 10 minutes later did my browser freeze, generating problems with my computer for the next hour -- and for some unexplainable reason causing my computer to play Coldplay music (even when the browser wasn't open).

Aside from Lively's browser bugs ruining my morning, causing me to take aggressive force against my keyboard with my fists, I've found several other reasons to loathe this new release. Some of the ill will results from Google's arrogance and the rest from the slavish press that feeds into it.

For starters, we can ignore those who claim Lively is a Second Life killer. Don't get me wrong, someone should kill Second Life and every avatar in it, but a new virtual world built by Google which serves no business function whatsoever will not be the thing to wipe Second Life off the digital planet.

I also want to smack those who say Google has validated the space by releasing a half-assed, non-purposeful, slow-moving, computer-freezing virtual world. Is that really all it takes? If companies are already doing a decent job of this with millions of users, does it really not count until Google donates 20 percent of its brainpower (literally 20 percent, according to to creating some mediocre clone?

Then there's Google and the Google lackies who are promoting Lively as transforming chat on the Web. What's so innovative? Lively is basically a regular chatroom with chintzy graphics. Age, sex, and location information are no more meaningful and no less creepy on Lively than it is in an AOL chatroom.

Finally, Google's a loser here for releasing products in beta when they're clearly still in an alpha/under-the-bed phase. My Lively avatar surveyed some other visitors, who when prodded about what they thought of the new product, complained that it was too slow, that the rooms take "years" to load, that walking is difficult (avatar arthritis?), and that it serves no B2B function whatsoever. No avatars I encountered offered up praise of the product.

Final verdict: Lively doesn't really live up to its name, and the Google hype here has gotten way ahead of any reality, virtual or logical.

— Nicole Ferraro, Site Editor, Internet Evolution

DISCUSS     Email This
Current display:       newest comments first       display in chronological order
Page 1 of 2   Next >
Natalies_mommy
IQ Crew
Friday July 18, 2008 1:41:19 PM
no ratings
well they get two big thumbs DOWN for releasing a crappy product that dosn't live up to their own expectations.
Mashka
Researcher
Friday July 18, 2008 1:41:48 AM
no ratings

Hello Nicole!

You know,there are several web- browsers,that are used by different people.Could it be that Google hoped to create a better version of The Second life?Or, they just feel obliged to produce different kind of "products" to be competitive.I don't really know  what is going on in the heads oh Google managers,but lets face it- the company can't be succssefull in everything!

Nicole Ferraro
IQ Crew
Tuesday July 15, 2008 9:15:18 PM
no ratings

Glad you enjoyed it. If I can provide you with snarky entertainment, it's all worth it!

At very least, Google's miserable failures in 2.0 make for good blog fodder. 

lpricci49
Rank: Cave Painter
Tuesday July 15, 2008 8:03:53 PM
no ratings

Nicole,

All your posts are insightful but when you get snarky like this they are entertaining as well.  Even if this investigation cost your poor computer a keyboard, it was worth it to us!

 But you do point out a key point:  Google's success is search and advertising, mostly based on search.  The rest is also ran; even you tube with millions of viewers is not, apparently, getting enough ad revenue.  And their G2C business model has its limits. 

That said, I still hold my Google stock.  Advertising is an industry much bigger than software.  Google will do OK if it sticks to the knitting.

Lawrence Ricci
www.EmbeddedInsider.com

 

burn0050
Rank: Cyborg
Monday July 14, 2008 11:59:28 AM
no ratings

You're correct - I only watched the video. I'm not going to install a pre-alpha release on my work computer - especially because I'm a web developer, I'm not going to get a plug-in for my browser which could cause me headaches (not to mention that the uninstaller is probably not set up right either).

We'll see what happens with this - but even Google can succumb to the "me-toos", which is what I see this as.

Mr. Roques
Researcher
Thursday July 10, 2008 2:21:47 PM
no ratings

I bet you stayed with the video and didn't run the actual trial, right?

The pre-alpha release they have is a pain... slow, glitchy and heavy on the system. Give it a try and repost.

The function of embedding the room is innovative and with time might develop into something more useful.

burn0050
Rank: Cyborg
Thursday July 10, 2008 12:57:52 PM
no ratings

What were the 4 reasons? It crashes and plays Coldplay?

A few comments about Lively. I have to say immediately after watching the video, that I certainly like the look of it more than Second Life - much cleaner and prettier. I also think it's innovative that anyone can create a room and stick it on a web page.

The fact that you have to download a plug-in seems strange for Google. 3D is taxing on a system, but they might have been able to do it with Java - I think it's funny they went the plug-in route.

If I were to place this on my web page, would this mean I have to have it open all the time? In case someone drops by? I kind of see this like kids hanging out at the food court at the mall. Fun maybe, but a waste of time once you get a driver's license.

It does make me ill to hear that people need Google to "validate" something by entering the space. Does that mean I should not have had a cell phone until Google touted Android?

chuckgregory
IQ Crew
Thursday July 10, 2008 11:26:57 AM
no ratings
I seem to remember that fix8.com offers pretty good capability for construction of lifelike avatars.
Nicole Ferraro
IQ Crew
Wednesday July 9, 2008 11:33:26 PM
no ratings

Hey Ben.

Someone else may have some better advice for you, but have you checked out Vivaty? I haven't really toyed around with it too much, but it's also a browser-based virtual world like Lively. From what I've seen I think it may offer a better selection of avatars to choose from and build. As far as audio is concerned I'm not sure if that's available. They're pretty new.

viboons
Researcher
Wednesday July 9, 2008 10:05:48 PM
no ratings

Despite all the technical issues that come with the beta version (i.e. usually an excuse for something not working properly), Lively by Google does sound interesting. It may be somewhat innovative not because of its virtual 3D graphics that are probably attractive to Korean internet users (no offense) but innovative in the sense that it can be embedded on any sites owned by regular users (you and me) taking it into the mainstream (could have been named YouChat or MyWorld, but that's kinna old).

I think the idea of bringing "interesting" features to users' personal website is not a bad one (...not yet anyway). Like Google Friend Connect (beta) where users can supposedly add social networking features to their sites with ease, Lively allows users to embed their virtual world chatrooms on to their sites (along with their photos from Picasa and videos from YouTube and other Google's toys). These things are integrated. (I didn't mention nothing about none of "Google having validated the space", did I? ... please don't smack me). 

But whether it's technical issues or not, the bottom line is if Lively doesn't work, it doesn't work and it isn't worth much. Though, Coldplay music wasn't a bad choise of music for a side effect of Lively.     

Page 1 of 2   Next >
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
previous posts from Editor's Blog
Mitch Wagner
Neal Stephenson is best known as the author of science fiction novels such as SnowCrash and Anathem. But he does other things as well. Among them: He's assembled a team of scientists and engineers to figure out how to build a 20-kilometer-tall tower to use as a platform for launching rockets into space.
Mitch Wagner
While interstellar travel presents huge challenges, it's "almost inevitable," according to a speaker at the Starship Century symposium here in San Diego.
Mitch Wagner
Mitch Wagner   5/20/2013   2 comments
Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp reassured users on Monday that the service's freewheeling culture isn't changing.
Mitch Wagner
Mitch Wagner   5/19/2013   37 comments
Yahoo's reported $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr faces many obstacles. But it could be a big jolt of caffeine to help Yahoo wake up and work right.
Alison Diana
Alison Diana   5/17/2013   43 comments
Catch up on the week with one simple serving of Friday File. We've pieced together 10 interesting news bites you may have missed and put them together in bite-size morsels.
5
of
Second Shooter
Graphing Facebook Graph Search's Success

1|25|13   |   2:13   |   10 comments


Facebook's Graph Search may face some profound challenges and risks, first, because Facebook users haven't been thinking of their posts as product reviews; and second, because Facebook will now have to contend with the social-network equivalent of SEO "gaming" of results.
Reiter's Block
Twitter Caves to Censors but Isn't the Enemy

1|30|12   |   2:49   |   13 comments


The Internet erupted in rage when Twitter said it could block tweets on a country-by-country basis. But avoid knee jerk reactions!
what.the.ferraro
Ashton Tweets No More

11|11|11   |   03:01   |   19 comments


After making an egregious blunder on Twitter, Ashton Kutcher is handing off the task of being informed and sensible to a management team.
what.the.ferraro
Interpretive Recitations of Reactions to New Facebook

9|22|11   |   02:49   |   23 comments


Based on reactions in Nicole's Newsfeed, everyone hates this version of Facebook. This should matter to Facebook now that there's a real competitor on the scene named Google+.
Wisdom of the Big Chair
The Internet Rocked in 2010!

2|2|11   |   02:05   |   2 comments


A decade after the dotcom boom, the Internet continues to dramatically change the way that business gets done and individuals communicate. More than a trillion email messages traveled over the Net last year, and dramatic changes loom on the horizon.
From the Editors
IE Sings for the Holidays

12|17|10   |   2:27   |   27 comments


Following an upbeat tempo at a pitch audible to most dogs, Internet Evolution’s editors attempt to sing a little ditty about the Web for the holidays
Second Shooter
MySpace ‘Reinvention’ Comes Too Late

10|29|10   |   2:09   |   7 comments


MySpace is reinventing itself by focusing on content, but it's too late, and other social networks should learn from its example by looking toward a telco payment model if they want to sustain user commitment and their own revenue.
Steve Saunders' Outernet
The Death of Anonymity: Part 3

Part 3 of 4   |  
See complete series
10|28|09   |   1:35   |   4 comments


What can users today do to protect their online privacy? The simplest and most obvious option is to not use the Internet – at all. However, once all digital information is consolidated over the Internet, trying to protect digital identity by simply unplugging from the Internet becomes impossible – a fact that has manifest implications for civil liberties, Saunders says.
Steve Saunders' Outernet
The Death of Anonymity: Part 2

Part 2 of 4   |  
See complete series
10|27|09   |   2:08   |   9 comments


By 2011 the number of Internet-connected sensors will exceed 1 trillion, making your chances of doing anything or going anywhere unnoticed pretty much zero. Saunders talks about how the 'sensortization' of the Internet is eliminating the traditional divide between online and offline populations.
Steve Saunders' Outernet
The Death of Anonymity: Part 1

Part 1 of 4   |  
See complete series
10|26|09   |   1:29   |   13 comments


The 20th Century Internet was characterized by the ability to interact with other people and information on the Internet largely without anyone knowing who you were. The Internet of this century, conversely, will be defined by identity. Saunders explains how Internet users are unwittingly contributing to the demise of the anonymous Internet.
IETV: the thinkerNet on film
5
of
Kim Davis
Big-Data Can’t Always Sell Wine

5|21|13   |   2:23   |   3 comments


Whole Foods Global Wine Purchaser Doug Bell told me about some of the constraints on using analytics in the US wine market.
Paul J. Fleuranges
Digital Signage Keeps NYC Subway Straphangers on Track

5|6|13   |   3:51   |   No comments


New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
Kim Davis
Fast Forward to the Future

4|23|13   |   2:29   |   20 comments


A look back at tech writing in the 90s makes us wonder where enterprise IT will be 20 years from now.
Mitch Wagner
Google Launches Its Most Depressing Service Yet

4|15|13   |   2:59   |   10 comments


Google's new Inactive Account Manager lets you control how Google disposes of your accounts when you die.
Second Shooter
Argument Over Top-Level Domains Is 'Stupid'

4|11|13   |   2:07   |   3 comments


The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
Kim Davis
Ladies, Your Tablet Awaits

3|21|13   |   2:22   |   37 comments


ePad Femme is the world’s first tablet “made exclusively for women.”
Wisdom of the Big Chair
NFC Moves Into the Mainstream

3|20|13   |   2:16   |   No comments


While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Wisdom of the Big Chair
Integrating Security Into Your Cloud Contract

3|19|13   |   3:35   |   No comments


Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Brian Baron
How Edmunds.com Collects Customer Information

3|18|13   |   1:15   |   No comments


Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Brian Baron
How Edmunds.com Uses Analytics to Customize Site

3|14|13   |   0:47   |   No comments


The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
an IBM information resource
sponsored content
big blue blog
Alison Diana
Ushering in a new era of cognitive computing systems, IBM announced today the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, a technology breakthrough that allows brands to crunch big data in record time to transform the way they engage clients in key functions such as customer service, marketing, and sales.
an IBM information resource
sponsored content
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT
In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator.

READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE!

REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators
Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?

Please email: moderators@internetevolution.com
Internet Evolution – not for thickies
Keep Critical Data With a Knowledge Management System
Taimoor Zubair
Fortune 500 companies lose at least
$31.5 billion a year by failing to share knowledge. A Knowledge Management System (KMS) can help companies significantly reduce these costs.

CLICK FOR MORE
Yahoo Needs to Break Tumblr in Order to Fix It
Joe Stanganelli
As
Mitch Wagner discussed today, Yahoo is acquiring Tumblr. The big Internet debate at the moment is whether Tumblr will be good or bad for Yahoo. Regardless of their stances on the future of Yahoo itself, many claim that Yahoo will somehow ruin Tumblr.

CLICK FOR MORE