R.I.P. Google’s Lively
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim — It took two years to develop Lively–the 3D world from Google. It took less than 5 months for Google to announce it is shutting it down. …despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we’ve decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year. It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business. Isn’t that basically what I suggested? ...

Google Kills Lively
TechCrunch — ... Even Google is getting into the downsizing spirit. It just announced that it is killing Lively, its browser-baseed virtual worlds that could be embedded into other Websites. ...

Google Kills Its Second Life-like Lively [Virtual Death]
Kotaku — ... interesting as a technical project it let users import photos from Google owned Picasa and YouTube into virtual rooms it wasn't much more than Second Life minus the scope. And while Fahey may disagree, Second Life 's not particularly interesting to begin with. The premature death of Lively may make the argument that Google should, could or would get into game development more moot, it at least gives Sony's upcoming Home project one less virtual world competitor. Lively no more [Google]

Google buries Lively
VentureBeat — Lively by Google, the search giant’s product for creating 3D virtual worlds on the web, will be shutting down at the end of the year. This news isn’t exactly a big surprise — despite creative director Kevin Hanna’s speculation about expanding the product to include casual games, and his statement that the user base “exceeded every number that [Google] put down,” we’ve been hearing rumors that Lively was anything but. According to traffic ...

Google to close 3D virtual space Lively
The Inquisitr » Technology — ... According to a post on the Google Blog, Google refers to Lively as a kind of experimentation, but says that “not every bet is going to pay off.” ...

That Was Quick: Google Kills Virtual World 'Lively' (GOOG)
Silicon Alley Insider — Google (GOOG) is killing its virtual world, Lively, after less than five months, to focus more on its "core search, ads and apps business." Smart move, given the rotting economy and pressure for Google to control costs and hit its numbers. One easy way to help both of those: Pull resources away from silly, unnecessary side projects. (Wonder what else is on the chopping block. Let us know.) From Google: In July we launched Lively in Google Labs because we wanted users to be able to interact with their friends and express ...

Google Pulls the Plug On Lively
paidContent — ... . Lively traffic was marginal at best (via Compete stats), and given the state of the economy, even Google couldn't afford to devote resources to a fledgling project. The company admitted as much in an official blog post: It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business. Any guesses on which other Google projects might be on the bubble? Google Base? ...

Google Lively Is Dead-ly
ReadWriteWeb — ... , Google has decided to turn the lights out on the alternate reality, announcing that they are discontinuing Lively at the end of this year. ...

That Was Quick: Google Shuts Lively Down
Mashable! — ... Without much fanfare, the 20% time project Lively is now facing the end of it’s brief lifespan, as Google announced today that the virtual chat and meeting tool is set to be shut down by the end of the year. ...

Google Is Out of the Virtual Reality Into… Reality
Profy — ... seems to be one of such mistakes. Today Google’s team working on Lively has admitted the mistake and announced the decision to shut Lively down explaining that the company needs to focus on its core lines of business - search, ads, and applications. ...

Google Shutting Down Lively
Edge Online - Interactive Entertainment Today — Google has decided to put an end to its browser-based virtual community service Lively, effective from December 31. The web search giant has explained on its official blog that Lively will be closed so that company s resources can be better focused to its core search, ads and apps businesses. Google says the decision to close Lively was difficult to make: We launched Lively because we wanted users to be able to interact with their friends and express themselves online in new ways. Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it's ...

Google kills its 'lively' virtual world
Tech Digest — ... and capture video of their creations before they're rendered inaccessible at the end of December. All team members assigned to the project will be moved elsewhere. It's a pity but Google's foray into virtual worlds was, at the time, seen as a bit of a strange move. This shuttering is to be expected, considering the low population in the world, and the lack of synergy with any of Google's other offerings. Right now, Google's got more important things to focus on. Lively (via the Official Google Blog) Related posts: Google makes good on virtual world ...

Google Lively 3D ‘ending December’
D' Technology Weblog — ... will be discontinued at the end of December, and everyone who has worked on the project will then move on to other teams,” informs Google Blog. ...

Google Kills Lively Quickly
Techdirt — ... , and believed Google would be able to turn the service into something compelling, but that appears not to be. Since the launch, to be honest, I can't recall ever hearing about Lively again -- and had pretty much forgotten it existed. And, indeed, less than six months after launching it, Google has killed off Lively, admitting that the experiment was something of a failure. ...

Google Lively sentenced to death
Technology: Technology blog | guardian.co.uk — ... , and IMVU's boss Cary Rosenzweig said Google had tried to buy the company then hired away one of its co-founders. Whatever the background, Google Lively flopped, and The Official Google Blog now says Lively no more: ...

Linkpost | 11.20.2008
TechBlog — Are you a PC? Get it on your chest at the I m a PC Store | Main November 20, 2008 Linkpost | 11.20.2008 • Spice up your inbox with colors and themes - Gmail adds themes, though not all users may be able to see them yet. • Lively no more - Google kills off its virtual world. • Mozilla: One Billion Addons Served - Here Are Some of Our Favorites - More than a billion Firefox add-ons have been downloaded. • Microsoft's Ballmer 'Done' With Talks to Buy Yahoo - But may still consider a search deal. • Sources: Apple, music labels ...

Virtual worlds: Not so Lively
Between the Lines — ... Google Labs has killed its virtual world experiment dubbed Lively in a mere five months. What does Google’s move say about virtual worlds? ...

Google Kills 'Second Life Killer,' Google Lively
The Raw Feed — Google announced yesterday evening that it would KILL OFF GOOGLE LIVELY, the 3D virtual environment that was supposed to provide a mass-market alternative to environments like Second Life. The company acknowledged that a lot of people put a lot of work into building their Lively rooms, and offered this helpful tip: "We'd encourage all Lively users to capture your hard work by taking videos and screenshots of your rooms." Uh, OK. Thanks, I guess...

Google Lively Soon to Be Deceased
Google Watch — ... by Dec. 31, marking a rare public failure in the marked track record of Google's programming teams. The Lively team wrote in a blog post: ...

Google's Lively Receives A Death Sentence
WebProNews Feed — ... Plug to be pulled at year's end So much for the idea of a second Second Life. Lively, launched by Google this July, has already been deemed something of a failure, and the search giant's issued a notice that it will more or less kill the collection of virtual rooms at the end of December. Given the economy's condition, it's not hard to understand why Google won't support an unsuccessful product. A note on the Official Google Blog acknowledges, "[W]hen you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off. . . . It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure ...

Was Google Lively DOA?
ClickZ News Blog — ... , there was insufficient momentum to sustain the Google Labs venture. This morning the Official Google Blog posted Google Lively will shut down at the end of the year. "Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it's the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people's lives. But we've also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off," it said on the blog. Additionally the Lively.com Web site urges users to create memories of their virtual ...

Google's Lively is Dead
AppScout — ... Now, a mere four months later, Google is cutting its loses. The search giant announced today in a blog post that Lively will shut down by the end of the year. The company stated: ...

Google Lively: Not So Much
Internet Evolution: — Google Lively, Google's first attempt at a virtual world, is now dead -- or will be as of 2009, according to the Official Google Blog . "It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads, and apps business," claims the ever-self-aggrandizing blog. Sure. Blame it on your over-packed plate. How very sacrificial of you -- although, it seems these numbers below might have at least something to do with Lively's demise, no? We wrote about Lively when it was first released, in an editor's blog entitled ...

Google Lively Is Not
Contentinople: — Google Lively, Google's first attempt at a virtual world, is now dead -- or will be as of 2009, according to the Official Google Blog . "It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads, and apps business," claims the ever-self-aggrandizing blog. Sure. Blame it on your over-packed plate. How very sacrificial of you -- although, it seems these numbers below might have at least something to do with Lively's demise, no? Get all the sordid details at ...

Google Lively is dead ... ly
Joystiq — ... A mere four and a half months after the project's birth, Google is pulling the plug on its Second Life clone, Lively. The internet giant announced that it will shut the program down at the end of December, leaving all those in need of a ...

Google Shutters Second Life-Like Lively [Google]
Lifehacker — ... we've got some bad news. By the end of December, Lively will be no more , according to the Official Google Blog. Anyone here care? Commiserate in the comments. [ ...

Google axes its Lively metaverse experiment
Betanews — ... , BetaNews November 20, 2008, 12:00 PM Not even five months into the project, Google's Lively Team announced that the gadget-based mini-metaverse will be discontinued at the end of December. "Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it's the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people's lives. But we've also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off...It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on ...

Lively from Google going the way of the dodo
Download Squad — ... , but I'm sure someone out there loved it. Right? No? Perhaps that explains Google's announcement that, "despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we've decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year." So grab those screenies before 2009 and your avatars and rooms go dead. ...

Second Life's death knell [Virtual Worlds]
Gawker: valleywag — ... Google has shut down Lively, its online 3D virtual world, after a few short months. The MBAs of Silicon Valley have a pat phrase for the arrival of a competitor on the scene: They say it "validates their space." What does it say, then, that Lively is gone? It means that Second Life, the best known of these unreal universes, is doomed, too. ...

Lively wasn’t, and now it’s dead
GMSV — ... , launched in July as Google’s venture into avatar-populated virtual worlds, will be allowed to expire at year’s end.“Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it’s the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people’s lives. But we’ve also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off,” said a post from the Lively team . “That’s why, despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we’ve decided to ...

Google's Lively Set To Die In December
InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs — ... , its 3-D interactive chat environment, in July, hoping "to help people experience another dimension of the Web." That dimension turned out to be flat. Lively never came alive as a social destination and Google on Wednesday said that it plans to shutter the service at the end of the year. In a post on the Official Google Blog, the Lively team explained that Google has always been willing to accept that some experiments don't work out. "That's why, despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we've decided ...

How Google Could Have Made Lively Work: No Sex, More Ads, Firefox (GOOG)
Silicon Alley Insider — ... . The reason it's going away: It's useless to Google's search ad business. Which is why the company said it's dumping Lively to "focus more on our core search, ads and apps business." ...

Google’s “Lively” is gonna be dead
Gadgetell — ... On its official blog, Google posted last night that “"Despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we’ve decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year.  It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business.“  “Creative rooms.“  Heh.  That’s one name for the Porn Star ‘R Us room. ...

Lessons learned from Google's Lively experiment
L.A. Times Tech Blog — ... , albeit in "beta." Google announced on its blog late Wednesday that it would shutter the product at the end of the year to focus on its bread-and-butter search business. Here's an excerpt from the post: ...

Google Getting Out Of Virtual World Game By Shutting Down Lively
Pulse2 - Technology News And Reviews — ... “Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it’s the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people’s lives,” stated the Lively Team on the Google Blog. “But we’ve also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off.” ...

Google Cans “Lively” Project
GEARFUSE — ... for me. Maybe I’ll start an online band and perform for other users of Second Life . I’ve always had an intense fear of crowds, yet find comfort and support with virtual crowds. Link [ ...

Google kills Lively
p2pnet news — p2pnet news view | Advertising:- Google’s Lively isn’t. Lively, that is. It’s not dead yet. Only moribund. But it’ll cease to be on December 31, blogs Google. It’s a bet that didn’t pay off, Do No Evil admits, going on »»» That’s why, despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we’ve decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year. It has been a tough decision, ...

Random Geekery
Technology - Channel Feed — (by GEARFUSE) (Kupy shows why girls should fall for designers) (The Obamafy Photo Booth plug-in) ($0.10 for every 10 minutes of charging) And of course… no more Lively. Tags: flips off IBM, Steve Jobs Share This

Google Unplugs Lively as Hype Fades Over Virtual Worlds
Bits — ... experiment will shut down at the end of the year. The Web-based portal to all things virtual only started in July, making this one of Google’s shorter experiments. Google portrayed the move away from user frivolity as a sound business move. “It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business,” the company said on a blog post. In the past Google has shown a willingness to let projects linger with a “beta” tag for months and months. But the virtual experiment was apparently not worth ...

Did Google Issue a Bear Call? [GigaOM]
GigaOM Network — ... Projects that are too pie-in-the-sky are going to be killed. Schmidt calls it the “dark matter.” Google Lively and ...

Google's Tighter Cost Controls
Google Operating System — ... But Google's revenue growth has slowed down, the stock is now at less than $300 and Google is not invulnerable to the economy crisis. That means Google must act more responsibly and start to find more safe bets. Google says that it wants to "prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business." That's the official explanation for closing Lively and for ...

Google to reveal Apps enhancements
Macworld — ... on Tuesday, referring at the end to the 3-D virtual world service Google shuttered recently. Last week, Girouard promised that Docs will get so much better in the next 12 months that its word processor, spreadsheet and presentation applications will be “night and day from what they are today.” Whether Docs will really get dramatically enhanced remains to be seen, said Forrester analyst Sheri McLeish, noting that Google could be reacting to Microsoft’s plans to release a major upgrade to Office next year. “Google could be attempting to make a splash and a lot more noise than ...