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 Google's engineering manager, Niniane Wang) 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.
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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