Enter Giiv, an online gift-giving service that allows you to virtually send gifts (or “giifts,” in their parlance), via text message.

Start by visiting the Giiv website and choosing a retailer or selecting a gift category. Their offerings are broad, ranging from “food and beverage” (think two-dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts) to “shoes and clothing” (gift cards to Macy’s).

Once you’ve found the perfect gift, simply select it and enter the cell phone number of the recipient. Once you’ve purchased the item, the recipient will instantly receive a text message with a gift code to redeem it in a physical store or via the store’s webiste (depending on the gift).

The service is completely free to use, but Giiv does charge a small service fee for some items.

Finally, a way for a cell phone to make you a hero.

Special Offer For Netted Subscribers
Giiv is offering the first 500 Netted subscribers a 20% discount on all “giifts” site-wide.  Enter the code NETTED20 at checkout.  The offer will be valid for two weeks.

For those in search of unique designs, there’s CustomMade, a marketplace that presents hundreds of talented artisans specializing in, well, custom made home furnishings.

If you’re looking for a specific piece of furniture or item, simply click “Find Artisans” and browse the categories. Almost everything you’d ever need is covered, from lighting to cabinetry to metal work to completely built homes.

You can also search by location, if you’re looking to hire someone in your area.

If your project is large or still happens to fall outside of any of the categories listed, fret not. An in-house interior designer is available to match you up with the right artisans for the project.

Think of it as really good design that happens to be within reach.

Being the recipient of a gift is dicey business.  Unless the person knows you really well, chances are good the present will go astray.

Thankfully, there’s the Amazon Universal Registry, which allows you to create your own personal wish list in one convenient market place.

Simply create an Amazon account (if you haven’t already for some reason) and drag the “Add to Registry” button to your browser’s bookmark bar.

From then on, simply click the button whenever you’re viewing a product that you’d like.
You can add to your list from any site, not just Amazon.

While Amazon has dedicated sites for wedding and baby shower registries, the business of registering isn’t just for these occasions anymore (read: It’s okay for dudes to do it).

When you’re creating your list, simply click which specialized registry you’d like to create, enter your name and begin building your list. Amazon offers guides to suggest items you may never have known you needed.

Of course if you still want to risk letting friends and family freewheel it, that’s your perogative.

For all your custom paper-based needs try online stationer MOO.com.

Their affordable mini-cards, greeting cards, stickers and postcards have been a favorite of designers and creative types for years, thanks to a focus on luxurious paper quality, customizability and attention to details like color correction and printing technology.

And now, with the launch of The Business Card Project, MOO is aiming to rid the world of bad-looking business cards. (Spoiler alert: they do exist)

The initiative, designed to help small businesses give their old cards an extreme makeover, runs through July.  (The entry form and rules can be found here).

MOO will choose 500 winners, giving away more than $250,000 worth of design services and products. Assuming you like free stuff, this is a contest worth exploring.

Of course, if you want to continue handing out cards that don’t speak very highly of you, that’s fine as well.

American Au Naturel: Since there’s a very good chance that you’ll be spending a lot of time outdoors this weekend, we recommend Abe’s Market, an online marketplace for natural products from independent sellers around the country. Each seller has a profile that outlines their business practices and the products they sell, from coffee to cleaning products. Consider your barbeque sauce and bug spray needs covered.

Hitting the Beach: If you’re spending your weekend near a body of water, avoid the embarrassment of wearing the same bathing suit as your friend with Shortomatic, a service that allows you to make your own custom board shorts (cost: $99). You can upload your own photos and artwork or choose from a gallery of submitted one-off shorts.

Modern Pyrotechnics: If you’re stuck inside this weekend for some reason, or if your local weather isn’t cooperating, you can still enjoy the quintessential 4th of July experience with some Virtual Fireworks. A tad cheesy? Sure. But so is the real thing, often. And, at least Roman candles are finally safe for work.

We’ll be back next week with more non-nationalistic ways to make your life easier through the Internet.

Happy Fourth of July,

The Netted Team

Now, thanks to Gift Card Granny, you can purchase popular gift cards for as much as 50 percent off the original price. (Yes, you can put this in the “terrible name, great service” file).

The site is basically a mega-store of gift cards from major retailers, arranged so that you can easily see how much your discount will be.

The size of the discount varies by the retailer, though all of the cards are priced at less than what you’d pay by going directly to the store.

You can also sign up to have coupon codes sent to you via email through their partner site, Coupon Sherpa.

Also:  We won’t tell anybody if you end up buying a few cards to use for your own shopping.

To cut through the clutter, try FatWallet, an online database that handpicks the best deals in dozens of shopping and retail categories.

The site doesn’t require any login.  Just visit and start looking for coupons. Rather than just providing a list of codes, FatWallet’s team of bargain hunters pick coupons that are for things you’ll care about.

(As an extra precaution, they’ve even checked reviews on each deal to make sure they’re free of spam.)

FatWallet also features a “best deals” section, where the editors compile the top bargains for the day. At any given time, you can find everything from discounted laptops to half-price DVDs.

Get ready to deal with carrying around a heavier wallet.

To clean out while doing good, try Freecycle, a grassroots non-profit “gifting movement” of people who give away (and claim) stuff you might normally toss in the trash. The hook: everything is free.

To use the service, you’ll need to sign up for an account with a Yahoo! ID (if you don’t have one, get one). Next you’ll look for a group near you by entering your locale in the search prompt. The network has nearly 8 million participants worldwide, which means finding a local group is easy.

If you have items you want to give away, simply post a listing (these are similar in style to Craiglist postings). Other Freecycle members will contact you via email to claim your stuff.

When you see items you might like to claim for yourself, the system works in reverse—you contact the poster and arrange to pick up your new item.

You know what they say–reduce, reuse, Freecycle.

For a more tailored shopping experience, try Makers Market, an eclectic online marketplace curated by the creators of Make and Boing Boing.

The product offerings tend toward the tastefully unique, with a focus on technology, science and the cleverly crafty, such as a clock made from old computer components (pictured, at right).

The site also offers jewelry, clothing and home furnishings.  And everything is made by the individual “makers” (not some factory in China).

Each maker is hand chosen, ensuring that everything available is up to a certain level of quality.  And the site’s design is clean and appealing, which makes the experience even more artful.

Makers Market doesn’t require you to sign up for an account to peruse the site or make a purchase. So just start browsing

Father’s Day is coming up.  And what dad wouldn’t love a set of towels featuring a hand-drawn diagram of a pinball machine?

Enter Lifebooker, a free service that allows you to search for appointments, browse exclusive deals, and book services from the best health and beauty businesses in your area. (The service is only in LA and NYC for now, but will be expanding soon).

Once you sign up for a free account, begin searching for appointments in categories ranging from hair treatments to full body massages to personal training.

And, yes, they have a section for dudes.

The site provides a variety of filters to apply to your query, including time of day, discount percentage, and price range. Each listing provides basic information about the venue and treatment, along with reviews for each specific service it provides.

Lifebooker even gives you “Reward Dollars” every time you book an appointment that can be put toward paying for future services.

The only one who may be unhappy with Lifebooker is the guy who does your hair at Supercuts.