Orkut Premium Themes (Good Idea Or Great Idea?)

A long, long time ago in a place not too far away (at least online), Google introduced Orkut holiday themes to the masses.

Sometimes called Orkut templates or Orkut skins, these themes became so popular they inspired hackers/artists to design hundreds of their own with a little help from GreaseMonkey and Firefox. (note: there is even an Orkut app for Orkut themes as well).

While its good to see both the official Orkut themes and hacked themes appear online (as staring at the baby blue background gets old after awhile), neither of them gives users the freedom to publicly customize their profiles to their tastes (as the hacked themes are only visible to you within Firefox).

Since Google is unlikely to give users the complete freedom to change their Orkut profiles (despite the fact that there is a growing demand for customized Orkut themes), they may want to consider creating an Orkut Theme market where web designers/hackers can apply (and create) free and premium themes for users everywhere.

Why Premium?

Even though Orkut has released "a few" official Orkut themes (which are only viewable if one is in India), the fact is that many users may want extra features/designs that Google does not have the time or desire to create.

Example: While I have no objection to Google displaying adsense on my Orkut profile, many users do not enjoy these ads and will often use ad blocking software (like NoScript) to hide/remove them.

Google could allow Orkut users to simply purchase a premium theme that removes these ads from their public profiles (which may delight users who come across ads they may object to for political/religious reasons).


Another feature Google could release (for premium themes only) is the ability to stream music from their public profile without having to depend upon Orkut apps (which are limited) or YouTube (which are often taken down under the threat of lawsuit).

But would users pay for an Orkut theme?

While the vast majority would probably download the free themes (as free costs you nothing), other users would probably want their Orkut profile to stand out from the rest of the orkutsphere (note: at least I would).

One only has to look at the success at blog themes (for WordPress, Blogger and Movable Type) to see how something similar could play out for Orkut.

Since Google probably does not have the time on their hands to create thousands of Orkut themes, it may be wiser for them to outsource it to third party individuals who can create quality templates for free or for a small fee (with Google getting a small cut to pay for hosting).


While Google would have to approve and check each Orkut theme (to make sure they are safe and compatible with most browsers) a theme market could give users the freedom to have customized look without having their Orkut profile appear chaotic (like MySpace).