While Google's services are often a delight to interact with, some have accused the search engine of not quite "getting" web 2.0. The doubters may shut up when they see Lively, one of the company's newest services. This article takes a close look at the offering.
Chat and social networking are easy with Lively, a service offered by Google. You might see the fun design elements, the custom avatars and the list of locales and think that this free service is akin to popular online social games like Second Life. You would be wrong if you came to this conclusion, however. Google's Lively isn't necessarily meant to be a world unto itself, but one you can integrate with ease into your own existing network.
What is Lively?
Lively isn't exactly an online game, but it isn't that far off. You will create your own character (avatar) and you can even design your own personal space. From there, you simply choose where to want to go. Maybe you'd like to virtually visit a quiet cabin in the woods, a mountainside retreat, or a quaint coffeehouse in Vienna. Lively, in its way, offers these treats. All you have to do is point and click.
Google's Lively is probably best described as 3D chat. Think of it as the next generation of chat. This free client allows you to load rooms equipped with embeddable video and pictures -- rooms that are user-designed and inhabited by custom-made representations of the chatters. It's chat, but it's much more modern than the plain-text rooms of old Internet days.
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