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Google Dumps ‘Lively’
By Anna Johnson on November 21st, 2008Google has decided not to get into the virtual world business after all. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Second Life – the most popular virtual world (if you don’t include games such as World of Warcraft in the mix) – is currently struggling… or the fact that Google needs to refocus on what makes money. Either way, Google will pull Lively at the end of the year.
Announcing the decision to ditch Lively, Google said that it was originally motivated to launch the virtual world in order to give users the ability to “interact with their friends and express themselves online in new ways.”
Looks like Lively wasn’t paying – or likely to pay – it’s way, and Google is preparing for tougher economic times by reigning in some of its more ‘carefree’ ways. Whether it’s focusing on monetizing its cash-burning assets (such as YouTube)… boosting revenues (such as relaxing standards on Google Adwords)… cutting back on innovations with no visible payoffs… or cutting non-performing staff (see article below).
One wonders… is Chrome also on the chopping block? Despite the fuss when it was launched, it’s share of the browser market has settled down to a rather insubstantial 0.74 percent.
Source: The Lively Team, “Lively no more”, The Official Google Blog, November 19, 2008, Net Applications, “Browser Market Share”, October 2008
