Lively By Google For The Newbie

Virtual reality chat applications such as IMVU and Second Life had already made use of this technology, but Lively by Google is the first one I have ever tried. At first I was really skeptical, investigated how to use lively.com. When I first entered the a lively.com room I did not know what to expect and I had to spend the first hour trying to figure things out. I have never played video games and I must admit Lively by Google took quite a bit of getting used to, so I am writing about a few things the newbie such as myself might want to know. This introduction is intended to help novices learn some interesting and fun things about Lively by Google.

You will need a Google email account to use Lively, but most of us hubbers should already have one if we use AdSense. I have three different Google email accounts, so you can always sign up for a different account if you want one just to use with lively.com by Google.

In virtual worlds avatar chat can be fun since these creations stand in for us. The wonderful about avatar chat is that we can make our avatar look any way we would like, but it does not necessarily look like we do in real life. It is a world of fantasy and fun, but be safe and use common sense always.

The choices for avatars are very limited at the moment since Google has just launched this application. However, stay tuned because in the weeks ahead there will be more choices. I was a little disappointed by the limitation of clothing styles, but this is a virtual reality chat and I tried to keep this in mind when I was making my selections. Other virtual reality chat applications might have better accessories and clothing styles, but I would not know since I only have an interest in using Lively by Google. The reason I am only interested in using this one is because it is pretty user friendly once you get used to all the little things that your avatar can do. Couple clicking on a chair or any object two times will allow you to sit on it, or right clicking your avatar will allow it to cry, laugh, hug, or dance with other chatters. There are quite a few features that will take more time to explore and there are probably a few experts in some of the rooms already that would be willing to show you how.

You can design your own room and include many different types of furniture and landscapes. However, I decided to spend time in ProCW's room because I liked how he placed the objects and the furniture compared to many other rooms. If you enjoy building virtual landscapes then building a room here should be something fun for you to try. At the moment I am content exploring other peoples' rooms.

If you are not used to playing video games or using virtual chats there is the possibility that Livley by Google may make you feel dizzy. I finally got the hang of moving my avatar through the virtual landscape after about an hour, but I started feeling very dizzy. If you go up to the top left hand corner of the screen there is an eye that will gives the options of the bird's eye view or the avatar's view, but I found the latter made me feel less nauseous. Another thing I did was get up from the computer to do something else ever ten minutes, which is something I like to do anyway so my eyes do not become strained by looking at the computer screen. However, I just like to warn everyone that if you are not used to video games that this application may make you feel dizzy.

Also, parents may want to monitor their child's use Lively by Google because I see it becoming highly addictive since people are able to see their online friends and move around in the room with them. Thus, many children and adults may have a hard time getting away from the computer after they start using Lively. I noticed my two hours using Lively by Google went by really quickly, so set a timer if you think it will be hard to get away from the computer.

There seems to be many different types rooms at Lively and already people are promoting themselves there in many inventive ways. Enjoy getting to know Lively by Google and take some time becoming familiar with this application once you get there.