Diversification Strategies Case Study

Lively’ – Google’s Virtual Reality Venture

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Abstract:
In the latest expansion beyond its main mission of organising the world's information, Internet search leader Google hoped to orchestrate more fantasising on the Web. It launched Lively, an on-line social networking website in which users could create their own virtual rooms using three-dimensional software. The case discusses the entry of Google into the on-line 3-D virtual world through its product Lively. In addition the case discusses the features of Lively as compared to that of other similar products in the market. Whether Google's Lively could impact on the market leader Second Life, remained to be seen.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To explain the concepts of product expansion and competitive threat
• To understand the social networking websites market
• To analyse the reasons for Google's launch of Lively.
• To examine the challenges for Google's Lively in the social networking market.s

Keywords : Social networking websites (SNW); Virtual websites; On-line advertisement; Business strategy; Product expansion; Competitive threat; Google; Lively; Expansion strategy; Emerging markets; 3-D networking websites