Is Google Building A Second Life?
Google just released a free versions of the Sketch-Up 3D modeling tool they recently acquired. Erick Schonfeld asks:
Is this an attempt to give Google Earth a Second Life by turning it into a virtual world where visitors can create their own buildings, vehicles, and other objects or just roam around?
Perhaps, but the thing that’s driving SL is ownership of content which is awkward for Google. One thing is for sure it looks smooth and a lot of people will find it difficult to see the value in Croquet until the easy content creation tools allow developers to look as good as SL and GoogleEarth/SketchUp. Although Croquet is just a much more potent architecture for doing this kind of stuff we’ve got to find ways to make clear the value.
Is Google Eyeing a Virtual Earth?…
Eric Schonfeld at the Business 2.0 blog ponders whether Google’s purchase of SketchUp means the company is thinking about turning Google Earth into “a virtual world where visitors can create their own buildings, vehicles, and other objects …