CEO of Gizmoz, Eyal Gever, has done quite well with impressing the online community with this 3D avatar site.  In the current social networking craze, Gizmoz offers an interesting way to spice up your current Myspace or other SN site and it seems numerous online surfers are searching for more to make their page unique.  You can view Eyal Gever’s (Gizmo CEO) Myspace page here.  If you are one of these users, chances are you’ve delved into the glitter comments, funny pictures or YouTube videos but all of these can be accessed and used by others.   If something truly exclusive is what you search for, then Gizmoz is a good option for you.

Gizmoz offers a variety of options for your 2D headshot such as 3D stickers, videos, pre-recorded or personally recorded audio with many options to customize.   Contrary to many current beliefs, Gizmoz has competitors that offer the same type of service.  Fix8, noted by VentureBeat, is similar and has raised a few million by supporters.   This is slightly behind Gizmoz.  TechCrunch reported that Gizmoz has ‘risen $6.5M in Series B financing from a round led by DoCoMo Capital, a subsidiary of the largest cell phone operator in Japan.’  Gizmoz’s funding totals in upwards of 12.8 million dollars which is a significant chunk of change considering the premise of the site.

Mashable reported back in May 2007 that Gizmoz released a second, updated Beta offering a more sturdy application.  Now in 2008, Gizmoz is progressing steadily and is gaining momentum among critics.  Following the TechCrunch 2007 Conference, Gizmoz approval rating was an average of 4.3, rating best on “idea” and “execution”.  Only six people took the poll but I guess that’s better than zero.  Compete offers site analytics for Gizmoz.com and it seems the site was doing its best between June and July 2007.  Since July 2007, the site has been on a slow decline in visitors, yet still placing in the 40K range. 

Gizmoz has also partnered with AOL’s instant messaging service AIM called Gizmoz Expressions .  Other IM services are compatible as well.  As an AIM user myself, it is nice to see something other than little smiley faces.  The AIM WeeMee is a pretty cool service but does not compete with the current ability of using your own picture.   Except many people may be hesitant to use their own picture, especially if they use AIM at work as I do.   

Crunchbase points out that, “Gizmoz also has several celebrity avatars that can say recorded phrases.”  I think that once Gizmoz gets rolling out of Beta – there will be several creative individuals cranking out JibJab/SmashMash type videos using these excellent 3D celebrity avatars.   Gizmoz has a great idea and I think many people have found it to be a quality application.  I do hope they add more options to use the avatars for such as less flashy skins and more hair styles.  Also, I would like to see a bit more clarity in the facial movement.  Overall, I think Gizmoz has a chance to be very successful.

This YouTube video shows a Gizmoz head making demonstration.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=-6iPP6T2xak[/youtube]

 Photoshop Plug-in FaceShop

If you are wondering what a gravatar is, let me explain. A gravatar is a 80×80 pixel image that you can use to visually represent yourself on the web. Use the same email address to create an account, upload a pic and once it’s approved, it’ll automatically show up. You can use the same avatar image on any Gravatar-enabled website or blog. Just use the same email address and it will automatically show up. Gravatar uses MPAA-style ratings so that they can ensure only appropriate images show up on our site.Gravatar allows you to upload a picture from your computer (the file I used was 2.0 MB) and crop it from there. Gravatar has a cropping tool that allows you to easily do this. One thing I did notice is that the cropping tool gives you much more control when the picture is at a higher resolution. Once your gravatar is cropped and ready, you get to rate it: G, PG, R, X, XX, XXX, XXXX, etc… There is a potential for abuse here, but it is probably a good thing that they decided to allow users to rate their own gravatars.

Gravatar is a pretty simple service and makes it easy to show your own picture on the web. They give you so many options to choose from, but if you decide you want to add a gravatar, then you’ll have to cough up $10 a year. I foresee a significant problem with gravatar as far as abuse goes, however. I don’t see Gravatar surviving very long unless the service secures some serious funding, and right now ten dollars is a little much to pay for gravatars. I sure wouldn’t pay any more. Only time will tell…