Google Acquires Picasa, Now I Can Say It…

I’ve been waiting for an excuse to claim that Google was going to compete with Ofoto and everyone else in the photo handling biz, after all, it’s one of the more intractable information/search problems we have, and it requires a massively scaled platform with sh*tloads of storage. Sound familiar? So today AP reports that Google purchased Picasa, which was Blogger’s photo uploading partner. By the way, it’s also an IdeaLab company, and IdeaLab is where Overture was born….so Bill Gross now has a bit of Google stock!

So now let me state the obvious: Google will compete in the photo management/storage/search/untangle-the-shoebox market. And by extension, let me state the not so obvious: I think travel is next.

Press release in extended entry below.

Tip o’ the Hat: Andy.

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Google Acquires Picasa

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – July 13, 2004 – Google Inc. today announced
it acquired Picasa, Inc., a Pasadena, Calif.-based digital photo
management company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Picasa enables users to easily manage and share digital
photographs, and its technologies complement Google’s ongoing
mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally
accessible and useful,” said Jonathan Rosenberg, vice president,
Product Management. “Picasa is an innovator in the field of digital
photography, and we’re excited that the Picasa team is joining
Google.”

Picasa was founded in October 2001. In May 2004, Picasa announced a
technology partnership with Google’s Blogger service to make
publishing digital photos with Blogger faster and easier. Further
product integration plans have not been announced. Picasa users will
not experience any interruption in service.

About Google Inc.
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the way
people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search
and advertising have made its website a top Internet destination and
its brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google maintains
the world’s largest online index of websites and other content, and
Google makes this information freely available to anyone with an
Internet connection. Google’s automated search technology helps
people obtain nearly instant access to relevant information from its
vast online index.

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