Thanks to a twitter tip from Eric Rice, I ventured over to Google Island today. The island flanks Phreak Isle, and only the "networking lounge" is physically accessible at this time but anyone with reasonable camera skills can get the gist.
The first question that struck me was "is this really a Google presence?" I'm not convinced this is an approved Google installation; things just don't seem Google-esque to me. While it's markedly branded Google it just doesn't carry the ease and simplicity of what I would normally associate with a Google brand. Everything from the overdose of primary colors, the simple minded garages with plaques linking to Google services and the littering of YouTube displays, doesn't strike me as the way in which the Google brand-meisters would enter Second Life. The sketch up display, however, is tongue-in-cheek clever.
I realize that the island is not generally open to the public yet, but given the stage of development I would assume it will be open soon and I will be anxious to see if this in fact is a true Google presence or merely a MDC marketing tool.
Share Some Grace:
