Google has launched Lively, a 3D social network! At first glance it looks like Second Life, but SL is all virtual. In Lively, everything besides the graphics is real, from the IM's to the chat rooms and individual web pages.
You enter a Lively room that is embedded on a blog or website and then immediately become emmersed in the room of the creator, engaging in his/her interests and passions.
For the time being, it's just available for Windows. It's still in Beta and is suffering a little from slow performance. The possibilities for this to just blow apart the social network world is staggering.
3D Social Networks
Google "Lively"
Trend Themes
1. 3D Social Networks - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in developing interactive 3D content for online social networking.
2. Virtual Reality - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in enhancing online social networking through immersive virtual reality experiences.
3. Embedded Chat Rooms - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in embedding chat rooms directly onto websites or social media platforms.
Industry Implications
1. Social Networking - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in the social networking industry through development of 3D social networks and VR experiences.
2. Gaming - Opportunity for gaming industry to expand into social networking through development of 3D and VR social networks that integrate gaming features.
3. Web Development - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in web development through integration of 3D content and chat rooms directly onto websites.