Google launches its own world, a virtual world in Beta – Lively. Give one online segment where Google does not represent today or not its team of engineers at R&D department burning midnight well. A virtual experience, as Google describes will allow users to create just like Second Life a virtual representations of real world on the web. Users can ornate their own rooms, can invite friends to their homes and can do all the wonderful and fascinating things they cant do in real life like blowing up oil barrels on a deserted islands.
If you wonder where does search engine king's foray into such initiatives fit, itsdifficult to say on branding perspective. Its more or less like Wal Mart approach, get mosre and more things on board.
As Mel Guymon, Google’s Head of 3D Operations, suggests to Virtual World News, the real takeaway is to validate a growing market for this space. “We’re basically saying this is a real space and everyone is doing this.” Sounds like the 800 lbs. gorilla is just saying, “Me too.” source: Gigaom
Coming rather silently and without much hullabaloo Google Lively however does not offer much to the business community. Observes Ian Hendry at Zdnet
However, if you are expecting a useful business focused application to add to your Google Account along with Adwords, Analytics and Apps, you'll be disappointed.
Its available on the web and the best part is user can embed this with its own site (will lead to cumulative popularity as it by default while finding refuge it goes beyond its own http address). Feeling like next viral arsenal? Search Engine Journal thinks so
Google’s Lively looks to be a promising web product and has the potential for another advertising venue for Google once it becomes viral and attain the same level of popularity and usage as that of Second Life.
so, when will it start minting money? Excerpt from an article on Washington Post :
Ms. Jew-Lim (spokewoman) said Google has no immediate plans to offer advertising on Lively. In fact, the company hasn't settled on a way to make money from the service, she said.
The small download, its only available on Windows (is that giving a preferential treatment to its competitor?)
Stephen Shankland at Webware tried Lively, and writes
...Integration with the ordinary Internet takes several forms. For one thing, you can pipe in content hosted elsewhere on the Internet, including photos or videos. For another, you can embed your Lively area into your blog or, using widgets Google has written, on MySpace and Facebook Web pages. And you can e-mail your friends a normal Web address to get them to join.
With Lively, you can set up you own online spaces--rooms, grassy meadows, desert islands, or, in the demo version I tried, simulated Silicon Valley office parks. You can change the clothing or form of your avatar (that's your online incarnation, for those of you who missed the Second Life hype). And of course you can chat, do backflips, shake hands, and give high-fives.
Get a fair idea of the idea in thumbnails here (popular rooms created by Google loyalists)
New York Times writes:
...Mark Kingdon, chief executive of Linden Labs, said Second Life's value was not just in 3-D chat but also in more elaborate environments where people can work, play, teach, and buy and sell virtual products. "Users are highly motivated to create and transact in Second Life to the tune of almost a million dollars a day in user-to-user transactions," Mr. Kingdon said.
Some applications are live, some are in pipeline, Is it experiencing some problems? ITWeek writes: 
however when IT Week tried to join one at random we found that log in took a long time, and once completed access was denied. Instead, we were greeted with a message saying that Lively was experiencing problems.
So, in couple of simple lines how woould you describe Google Lively
Lively looks hip, too. It's kind of a combination between anime and a Disney movie, with wide-eyed avatars and colorful, angular scenery. Chat bubbles are brightly colored and attached to avatars with long stems. Link
Some are calling third rate. One insider said,
Most of the avatars, clothing and objects were created by vendors working with Google... We hope to enable user-generated content and even more customisation soon.
Vendors?? You mean software developer suppliers from some offshore countries? Your guess is as good as mine.
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