In all the hype over Google’s online office suite and forthcoming erosion of Microsoft market share, I’ve seen no mention of Google’s most recent Redmond inspiration: the ill-fated Microsoft BOB.  For the past week I’ve had Google’s new “theme” customization running on my personalized Google homepage and it’s 1995 all over again.  My gateway to the internet is now friendly.  A zen-like fox paddles around my search bar, picking fruit and feasting on sushi whilst his friends, the bullfrog, caterpillar, and nightingale occasionally show up as sideshow.  Seriously, I like this stuff.

So, while BOB flopped, I bet “themes” is going to hit it big if iterated upon just a bit.  In the race against Netvibes and others for ownership of the “webtop” (one’s browser homepage is the new desktop), this kind of engagement is going to be crucial.  Hook me with the zen fox. 

Consider a couple possibilities for Google here:

• Product placement; instead of Yahoo!’s screaming homepage banner ad, imagine my zen fox drinking Tazo tea or scooting around in the latest hybrid.
• Gaming; what if I could raise my zen fox from pupdom, imbue certain personality traits in him, earn points to buy fox treats based on conducting google searches, etc.?

Now, of note, Google is famous for clean, almost spartan, design.  There’ll always be folks that want that pure productivity enablement.  But there’s also a mass market out there that wants to toy around and I think engaging them with a fun, customized homepage is smart.  To take a page out of Wallstrip, I’m “long” Google themes.

Who knew that BOB was bleeding edge?  Just for nostalgia’s sake, here’s a screenshot: