IAC Debuts Zwinky Avatar Service

Posted on December 11, 2006

IAC, the holder of some major website including Ask.com, Match.com, HSN.com and Ticketmaster.com, has officially launched Zwinky (www.zwinky.com), a customizable social avatar. IAC says people can use Zwinky avatars to create and express their online brand or persona. They can be used on social networking sites and blogs. IAC claims Zwinky has more than two million unique users. The Zwinky concept was explained in a recent press release.

With Zwinky, users create a visual representation of themselves online that can be customized to reflect their personality, fashion sense and current mood. Start with a compact "cuties" or more human-like "hotties" character and begin personalizing the Zwinky by choosing from hundreds of different hair styles, eye colors, skin tones, outfits, as well as makeup, accessories, scenes, and text greetings or symbols. Zwinkies can be changed or updated at any time to reflect how a user feels (and not necessarily how he or she looks in real life). And Zwinky creators can use their imaginations to try out a different persona or see how they'd look with pink hair, a Mohawk or trendy outfit.

Allowing the Zwinky avatars to be portable and used on social networks and blogs has probably helped Zwinky grow quickly to two million users. Widgets are becoming a big deal as companies try to get their widgets on as many blogs, profiles and websites as possible. Zwinky will compete with other avatar services like Meez.