Google adds 3-D to online social relationships

IDG News Service - Google Inc. has entered yet another space with the launch of Lively, a tool for creating 3-D social spaces on Web sites, which is now available in a public beta test.

The platform lets users create and personalize their own character, so-called avatars, and their own rooms, similar to social Web sites such as Second Life.

But a key feature of the Lively platform is integration with the Internet. Users are able to create a room and embed it with their Web site or blog, writes Niniane Wang, engineering manager at Google, on the company blog.

Rooms can also be integrated with both MySpace and Facebook pages, and there is also support for playing YouTube videos and showing photos in virtual TVs and picture frames, according to Wang.

The inspiration for the platform was the realization that the current social world is too static, Wang said.

With Lively, users can interact using words, 3-D graphics and gestures, she said. The furniture that users pick for their rooms should give visitors an idea of who they are, and it is more poignant to receive an animated hug than seeing the text "[[hug]]" displayed on the screen, according to Wang.

To use the Lively beta, users need a computer running Windows and either Internet Explorer or Firefox (the browser is the client). Users also must be older than 13.

Whether Lively will be a success is hard to foresee because social networking is one of the most unpredictable markets, said Steve Prentice, an analyst at Gartner Inc. "It will have to wean users of existing platforms, and that is always difficult. It is all about attracting key individuals, and not so much about the features," Prentice said.

The platform is more a way for Google to compete with Facebook than with other existing and similar platforms, including IMVU and Habbo, Prentice said. He also expects there to be opportunities for developers.

Making money will also be an uphill battle for Google Lively. In general, building revenue from social networking continues to be a challenge, Prentice said. For example, users cannot be charged for entry to a social network because then they won't join, and selling information about users is tricky. "But if anyone can make money, it's Google," Prentice said.

Immediately after the launch, comments are starting to appear, and it's a mixed message. The fact that the platform only supports Windows, at least so far, annoys some, especially Mac users.

Users are also complaining about the interface, which they say is too clunky. They also question whether there is a need for another platform. There are also reports of the Firefox version crashing. The site is still in beta testing, although some suggest it should be an alpha version.

At the same time, there are also those who say Google will dominate the field, and the cartoon-style graphics are also given a thumbs-up.