Webware

A look at the iGoogle Artist Theme created by Brazilian label Havaianas.

(Credit: Google)

Many a couture designer might frown on Google's trademark primary colors (what do they say about putting yellow next to red again?), but that doesn't mean that Mountain View doesn't have some fashion sense. To commemorate this month's New York Fashion Week in midtown Manhattan, Google has introduced a new set of themes for its iGoogle personal homepage service, created by some of the biggest names in high style.

The 19 designers and labels included in the special edition of iGoogle Artist Themes (a project originally launched in May) include Gucci, Betsey Johnson, Vivienne Tam, Kate Spade, Burberry, and my personal favorite--funky Brazilian flip-flop line Havaianas. Several other fashion labels, like Diane von Furstenberg and Marc Ecko, were already on iGoogle as part of the original Artist Themes launch.

Google also launched nine more themes created by musicians, including Bob Dylan, Gnarls Barkley, and Radiohead, the pioneering British act that already has a big following from the Googleplex.

The debut of iGoogle's fashion themes, to take place Wednesday through Friday at New York Fashion Week's headquarters, will be lower-key than the glitzy affair in May that splashed colorful projections all over the cobblestone streets of the downtown Meatpacking District.

But having a presence at Fashion Week is a savvy move for Google, regardless of how many iGoogle users want to put Jimmy Choo on their personal homepages, as the biannual sartorial confab isn't just a big deal for the fashion business. It's also a big occasion for Google's dance partner of choice in New York--the ad industry.

This post was updated at 7:58 a.m. PT.

Spleak widgets can be customized and embedded into other social network profiles.

Spleak Media Network, the San Francisco-based start-up focused on creating "interactive content communities," announced Tuesday morning that it would be moving into three new content categories: fashion, television, and games.

Spleak's concept is a bit unusual: users read, rate, and create content entirely via instant messaging platforms (AIM, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk), though there's also an opportunity to embed a Spleak widget into your MySpace or Facebook page. The content--in 250 characters or less--comes from readers and from Spleak's official content partners, such as CosmoGirl and Fox Sports. Users can vote each element up or down, with the most popular tidbits floating to the top.

Today's launch includes StyleSpleak, which focuses on fashion trends and tips as well as designer news; TVSpleak, where fans can read about TV shows and characters; and GameSpleak, where users can share game news, strategies, and cheats. The new sites join existing communities centered around sports, politics, and celebrity gossip (which we covered late last year).

More content areas are forthcoming, as is a plan to make money off the content with ads, interactive games, and quizzes.

If you thought Google's capacity for high design didn't go far beyond its primary-colored logo, think again.

The iGoogle personalized home pages have been graced with new flair thanks to the introduction of iGoogle Artist Themes, a way for Google members to do digital interior decoration.

It may not help Mountain View on its quest to organize all the world's information, but it can make some of that information look a little prettier. Microsoft did something like this with Zune Originals, trendy designs for its music players.

"We've collaborated with almost 70 artists from around the world," an e-mail announcement from Google reads, "inviting them to use iGoogle as their canvas by creating unique, dynamic themes for our users to personalize their pages." The imagery in each theme changes continually.

Artist Jeff Koons' 'Google doodle'

(Credit: Google)

This is no small-time operation. Google has pulled out the stops, with contributions from artists and architects like Jeff Koons, Michael Graves, Philippe Starck, and Yann Arthus-Betrand, as well as fashion luminaries like Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Ecko, and Dolce & Gabbana. A few music artists like Coldplay, the John Butler Trio, and the Beastie Boys also are present, as are pop-culture figures like BoingBoing's Mark Frauenfelder, Jackie Chan, The Wiggles, and...Lance Armstrong.

To celebrate, Google will host an art-themed party Thursday night at a nightclub in New York's Meatpacking District, the upscale shopping and nightclub enclave that lies conveniently adjacent to the company's sprawling Gotham satellite office.

In addition, the Google.com logo has been tweaked by Koons for the day.

As of two years ago People magazine was raking in a whopping $1.5 billion in revenue. Much of the magazine is photos of celebrities or other people of interest that others pay simply to flip through. One of the recurring (and most popular) features has celebrities wearing some of the worst clothing, picked out especially by the editors--usually with wonderfully snarky commentary.

In the same spirit is RestyleMe, which lets anyone with a mouse pick away at other people's "style" (or your own) in one of 10 categories with simple thumbs-up and thumbs-down voting. Like StumbleUpon, clicking to vote will take you to the next page, although the next person it jumps you to isn't based on any sort of recommendation system. The categories are simple things like hair, teeth, and clothing. You can also delve deeper with tattoos, eye wear, and facial hair.

What makes the site great is that it's additively simple. One click and you're on to something new. Or you can dig deeper and see what other people have voted on for the person you just passed judgment on.

Besides browsing, everyone's photos can be organized in tags. As with a person's style, you can vote on tags as well, skimming off the bad ones and promoting the good ones. While I can't imagine myself using this site on a daily basis, it's certainly a lot of fun and brings a human touch to the equation that FaceStat, which we looked at last week did not.

Related: Closet Assistant attempts easy Web wardrobe management, social networking for turtlenecks

Judge away in 10 different categories. Don't worry about any guilt though, you can do this with total anonymity.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Women's-focused media and advertising company Glam Media has acquired StyleMob, a small social-media site consisting of a blog and some community features pertaining to fashion. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The rumor was first reported in Valleywag earlier on Thursday, where blogger Nicholas Carlson added that StyleMob's founders "weren't happy" about the acquisition. Glam Media recently raised significant venture funding and hinted that it would go in part toward purchasing smaller companies.

StyleMob, centered on "street fashion" rather than the runways of Paris and Milan, had already been a part of Glam's advertising network prior to the acquisition. As it turns out, the deal was actually closed earlier this year. "Glam Media did acquire StyleMob, a fashion social media site founded in early 2007. All three employees are now with Glam," Glam Media public relations director Caroline Hacker said in a statement. "Co-founder Adam Souzis was previously announced as executive director of Glam Labs, the technology research arm of Glam (on) February 4th."

Recent months have seen a number of acquisitions in the fashion-media start-up space, including some by women's blog network Sugar Inc. Glam, meanwhile, has stayed relatively mum on purchases, choosing instead to expand its advertising reach.

The Snap Instant Communicator is one of the weirdest little gizmos I've seen in a while. It's a push-to-talk intercom system that runs on a PC and it only works when the Snap hardware console--which is just a few buttons, a speaker, and a microphone--is plugged in to it.

The console has eight labeled lights for the people you talk to the most. Once you add other Snap users into your account and label their spots on your device, all you have to do is press the button next to a name, and if the other party accepts the call (by pressing the corresponding button on their device for your name, which will be blinking), you're connected in real time.

Intercom 2.0? It's the Snap Instant Communicator.

(Credit: CNET / Rafe Needleman)

Let's be very clear: There are dozens of other ways you can connect with a co-worker for quick communication. You can call them, Skype them, or use a Nextel push-to-talk connection. You can use instant-messaging software, or e-mail. You can video-call. You can yell.

But if you like the idea of being able to just push a button to start an instant hands-free voice communication with someone you work with closely, then this is the gizmo for you. As Josh says, "It's great. As long as your boss doesn't have one."

The intercom concept is ancient, and the device has a certain retro flair to it, but the Snap has modern functions. The lights next to users' names act as presence indicators. They're on when the user's PC is on and they're working, and they go off after a period of inactivity. (Users can also press the Privacy button on the device to disappear from the network.)

Users can create a real-time conference call among Snap users just by pressing more users' buttons. If a user tries to connect to someone who is not present, the system can automatically try a telephone line instead (U.S. calls are charged at 2 cents a minute). Alternatively, a voice message can be left, which will be sent to the user as an e-mail attachment.

Configuring is done on a simple Web page.

It looks like the setup will be very easy, although our early beta units did give us trouble. To get started, users run an application from the Web, plug in the device, and invite co-workers (or buddies). If the invitees have a Snap, they'll be connected to each others' network. If not, the person on the receiving end will get a coupon for a discount on their own device. That makes for a nice viral business model.

My biggest complaint is that there's no "soft" version of the intercom. Users must have the hardware to use the network. Traveling businesspeople are not going to want to schlep their Snap gizmo with them everywhere they go. I had a disagreement with CEO Todd Smith on this. Smith said that he couldn't guarantee call quality on laptop speakers, and that his business is based on selling hardware. He suggested that users will take the intercom with them. "But it's too big," I complained. "And you've weighted it to make it seem more substantial." "No, we didn't." Smith said. Meanwhile, the VP of engineering, who was sitting behind him, was looking at me and nodding his head. At any rate, I think I got Smith to relent, and he is considering a software version of the product for traveling users.

The Snap Communicator will be officially announced in March, and should hit retail stores in April. It will initially sell for $99 in two-packs. It's PC-only and is clearly not for everyone, but I think it will find a following.

I once had a French teacher in high school who--legend has it--purchased about a hundred pairs of the same shoe in the same size after deciding it was the best pair of shoes he had ever worn, and calculating the wear rate combined with his life expectancy. For him, my guess is that picking out what pair of shoes he wanted to wear each day was not an issue, but for everything else, maybe he could have benefited from a service called Closet Assistant, which as the name suggests is a system to help you pick out what clothes to wear based on what you've got sitting in your closet.

Similar to some of the bookshelf sharing services out there (Shelfari, Delicious Library, et al), Closet Assistant requires the user to manually input their inventory of clothing. Users can simply upload a picture, or go the whole nine yards by adding names, descriptions (complete with category and subcategory), price paid, and purchase date. Once added to their virtual closet, these items can be combined with others to make an outfit. You can then share these outfits with others Closet Assistant users (on a MySpace-like profile page), or schedule what you want to wear, and when you want to wear it until the end of time using the calendaring tool. Assumingly, users who set up their outfits for each day can do away with the annoyance of having to decide on what to cover up with each morning.

Is this useful? From an insurance standpoint I suppose it is (each user profile shows an approximate total wardrobe value), but what's interesting here is the social angle. How easily this can translate into a clothes swap or auction service, and integrate with other existing social networking sites is the next step. I'm just waiting for the inevitable Facebook app.

[found on SimpleSpark via KillerStartups]

Related: Shopcasting can flaunt your style, but the wardrobes need help

Closet Assistant helps you organize your clothing to help make outfits easier to make and choose. No we're not joking.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

If you read that chick-lit classic Bergdorf Blondes (I'm proud to admit that I did), you'll probably recall the scene in which the shopaholic female protagonists hold a military-style planning session in advance of the legendary Chanel sample sale--a chance for them to snag the high-end designer goods at staggering discounts, the only caveat being that hundreds of other viciously competitive Manhattan women were also hoping to get their hands on the same stuff.

It was only a matter of time before that sort of upper-crust cutthroat shopping hit the Web.

Enter Ideeli (pronounced "ideally"), which debuted Monday after several months of soft-launch. Described as a "red-rope online shopping community," Ideeli is an invite-only site that hosts high-speed sales of luxury goods (so far, just accessories) at 50 to 90 percent discounts and keeps its members in the loop through e-mail and mobile alerts to let them know when a sale has started.

Quantities are limited and can sell out within minutes--if this sounds familiar, it's because it's a model pioneered by rapid-fire sale sites like Woot.com, which has built up an enviable cult following, and the girlier Delight.com.

But as the luxury market warms up to the Web, the Woot model is being applied to sites that are more Sex and the City than Star Trek. Following in the vein of "velvet rope" social networks like ASmallWorld (for the jet set) and Metrofunk (for the club set), Ideeli and similar sites like Gilt Groupe (which hosts high-end online sample sales), are invite-only.

Ideeli has some twists thrown in the mix, too. The site offers a paid "first row" membership ($7.99 per month) that enables mobile alerts and also allows for an hour of early access to sales.

It's obviously not for everyone. Even considering the discounted prices, these are still luxury goods, and hence typically cost a few hundred dollars at the minimum. Some pragmatic shopaholics aren't willing to plunk down that kind of cash without seeing the item in person, or with that kind of impulse-buying required. But some money types are banking on success: Ideeli announced Monday that it has secured $3.8 million in capital from Kodiak Ventures and a handful of angel investors.

Snobbish? Totally. But so are Apple fanboys, for the record. We also happen to have Ideeli invites available for readers: go to ideeli.com and use "cnet" as your invitation code.

Rainbow-hued blog network Sugar Inc. is on one heck of a shopping spree: last month, the women's media company purchased social shopping site ShopStyle, and now it's bought fashion-centric blog hub Coutorture Media.

No financial terms were disclosed.

Coutorture, which will remain a standalone site despite the new Sugar affiliation, isn't a blog network in the traditional sense. The 230+ blogs that it counts under its trendy umbrella aren't officially run by the site, nor are they part of an advertising network like Glam Media; they're the fashion-related blogs run by Coutorture readers who have applied to become part of the site and run a chance of extra hits if their headlines make it to the front page. (Internet historians: Remember WebRing?) The main Coutorture.com site also offers original editorial content.

With the acquisition, Coutorture editor in chief Julie Fredrickson will stay at the helm, and co-founder Phil Leif will take on the role of Senior Engineer at Sugar Inc. The site, meanwhile, will be infused with technology from fellow Sugar buy ShopStyle.

Clearly, Sugar Inc. is pursuing an aggressive acquisition strategy here, and company CEO Brian Sugar indicated in a chat with CNET News.com that these deals are far from over. He also quelled any speculation that Sugar Inc. itself was for sale, a possibility that several bloggers have raised.

"This company is absolutely not for sale," he asserted.