It's difficult to understand why Google didn't develop an online photo editor: it would've integrated with Picasa Web Albums, Google Docs and other Google services. Right now, Picasa Web Albums is just an online extension of Picasa, a popular software that lets you manage your photos. Unlike Picasa Web Albums, most Google services work online and don't require additional applications.
Instead of migrating Picasa online, Google acquired Picnik, an online photo editor that already integrates with Picasa Web Albums and many other photo services.
"Today, we're excited to announce that Google has acquired Picnik, one of the first sites to bring photo editing to the cloud. Using Picnik, you can crop, do touch-ups and add cool effects to your photos, all without leaving your web browser," mentions Google's blog.
Picnik will not be discontinued and Google promises that the service will continue to support all the existing partners, but I suspect that Flickr will no longer use it as the default photo editor.
"When Bitnik, Inc was created, our founders envisioned making great software for real people and giving users the power to edit digital photos in their browser, without having to purchase or download complicated software. While our first office in 2005 only had two desks, today we've grown to 20 employees and have become the world's most fun online photo editor, with millions of visitors every month," says Virginia from Picnik.
Google will have to rethink its strategy and no longer build online extensions for software, even if they own a popular application like Picasa. Google Photos should be a standalone service that doesn't require Picasa to upload more than 5 photos, to download photo albums or to quickly retouch a photo.
Online photo editor Picnik has been acquired by Google, as the Picnik blog announces. The Picnik team is excited, writing that “It means we can think BIG. Google processes petabytes of data every day, and with their worldwide infrastructure and world-class team, it is truly the best home we could have found.” TechCrunch commentsthat “Interestingly, Picnik is Flickr’s default photo editor”... Flickr being a competitor to Google’s Picasa Web Albums.
Instead of migrating Picasa online, Google acquired Picnik, an online photo editor that already integrates with Picasa Web Albums and many other photo services.
"Today, we're excited to announce that Google has acquired Picnik, one of the first sites to bring photo editing to the cloud. Using Picnik, you can crop, do touch-ups and add cool effects to your photos, all without leaving your web browser," mentions Google's blog.
Picnik will not be discontinued and Google promises that the service will continue to support all the existing partners, but I suspect that Flickr will no longer use it as the default photo editor.
"When Bitnik, Inc was created, our founders envisioned making great software for real people and giving users the power to edit digital photos in their browser, without having to purchase or download complicated software. While our first office in 2005 only had two desks, today we've grown to 20 employees and have become the world's most fun online photo editor, with millions of visitors every month," says Virginia from Picnik.
Google will have to rethink its strategy and no longer build online extensions for software, even if they own a popular application like Picasa. Google Photos should be a standalone service that doesn't require Picasa to upload more than 5 photos, to download photo albums or to quickly retouch a photo.
Online photo editor Picnik has been acquired by Google, as the Picnik blog announces. The Picnik team is excited, writing that “It means we can think BIG. Google processes petabytes of data every day, and with their worldwide infrastructure and world-class team, it is truly the best home we could have found.” TechCrunch commentsthat “Interestingly, Picnik is Flickr’s default photo editor”... Flickr being a competitor to Google’s Picasa Web Albums.
A built-in image editor would make some sense in a whole lot of Google tools. Blogger, for instance, or Picasa Web Albums, or Google Presentations (beyond just vector-based editing), even Google image search (for, say, a quick contrast increasing of a pic you’ve found). A stand-alone photo editing app could be interesting too; for one thing, you can’t just install Photoshop on Google Chrome OS. Not sure if we’ll see the existing Picnik app itself surface in Google world, but it seems at least the skill set of the Picnik team could come in handy for Google if they plan any of these efforts.
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