Picnick was an immensely popular photo editing service which was acquired into the Google collective of products. The website allowed users to perform basic photo editing tasks, without being overwhelmed by the advanced features, and price, that comes with full featured editing programs. The online software was easy to use, free, and with a massive user base. Thus Google’s acquisition was a logical step in the evolution of the product.
Unfortunately, the natural course of evolution for such internet applications do not always work in the favor of the end user. Instead, they tend to benefit the corporations that run them. This is a reoccurring theme, one that is as old as internet business itself, and one that will likely not die before the internet does.
There is good news in this story. Another reoccurring theme with internet startups, like Picnik, is that whenever one good idea is produced, many more follow. Often, the copycat is creative, and introduces a better product. Only by examining other websites like Picnik, can we discover if this is the case.
Sites Like Picnik
A few examples of sites like Picnik are outlined below.
- FotoFlexer is an online photo editor which makes it easy for the user to remove blemishes, change skin/hair color and more.
- Phixris an online image editor with basic editing features, and online photo albums.
- Pixlr is a free online image editor, which offers some pretty cool filters to enhance the look of photos.