Google’s Lively is basically a chat client. But then to some, so is Second Life. And it has some advantages:
- The Google name and reach
- Clean, sculpty looking objects
- A small download
- A peppy, bright, bubbly sort of chat space
- Link to your Google profile and log-in information (G-mail etc.)
- The ability to embed youTube videos and watch them with your friends
- A maniacal giggle (with its downside that it’s text activated, just say the word laugh and you’re laughing as in “That’s nothing to laugh about”)
And it has distinct disadvantages as well, in particular no support for the Mac (were they in SUCH a huge rush? Did the Vivaty launch onto Facebook accelerate their plans ahead of support for the Mac platform?), bugs, crashes, avatar limits, and a bit of a learning curve.