TweetDeck kicked off the series with a Warner Brothers partnership for the studio's upcoming film version of Sherlock Holmes -- the accompanying theme, "TweetDeck Telegram Co.," is now available for download.
The skin features a classic black and white theme to take you back "to a time before coloured avatars, shiny interfaces and rounded corners." It also integrates with an interactive game being released to promote the film, called 221b. The two-player online game takes you and a friend through the events leading up to the first scene of the movie.
TweetDeck says it will be partnering with record labels, bands, movie studios and other media companies to release more themes over the coming year. (In the past, TweetDeck has created skins for bands like Blink 182 as well as Mashable.) Each will present a custom look and feel as well as a dedicated channel for the artist or film alongside the user's existing TweetDeck columns. In the Sherlock Holmes theme, the dedicated channel features a window into the 221b game.
The new skinning strategy seems like an interesting and sensible business model for TweetDeck. For fans of the partnered artists and movies, themes could offer a fun and relevant way to keep tabs on a favorite band or upcoming release. Users tend to appreciate the opportunity to customize their apps and experiences, and sensible tie-ins with popular media franchises that many people will want to socialize anyway will likely make useful enhancements for fans.