Google Axes Blogger, Picasa Brands As Part Of Google+ Social Effort

Google will axe two popular brand names, Mashable has reported.

Blogger and Picasa will be renamed as part of a branding push following the release of Google+, the company's new social network. Blogger will be called Google Blogs and Picasa will become Google Photos.

From Mashable:

"Picasa and Blogger were also Google acquisitions, although both companies have been part of the Google empire for far longer. Picasa was acquired in 2004 and Blogger (co-founded by Evan Williams of Twitter) was acquired in 2003 and is one of the top 10 most visited websites in the world. Although the rebranding could upset some existing customers, it also gives Google the ability to completely integrate both services into Google+."

The move is not without precedent. For example, when Google acquired JotSpot in 2006, the service was renamed Google Sites.

Mashable also reported that while other brands may be subject to a name change, YouTube will not be one of them.

Given that the Google brand has taken some heat recently, we wonder how users will react to the news.

What are your thoughts? Weigh in via our QuickPoll (below).

Quick Poll

What do you think of Google's decision to rebrand Blogger and Picasa?

Love it. The names were terrible.

Hate it. The names were fine the way they were.

Indifferent. Names don't matter, so long as the services are strong.

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

Comments

[TheBrownRecluse]

06:49 PM on 09/02/2011

Google is such a silly name. Don't know why they ever named anything google.

[Vic22]

02:57 PM on 07/07/2011

Google has consistently failed on any kind of features besides search and email. I think that this is a bad idea because they are losing brand equity/loyalty in hopes that their new endeavor will be able to hold peoples attention. History would dictate otherwise

[Francisco Coelho]

09:46 AM on 07/07/2011

Google will rebrand Blogger and Picasa.

[ogaraj]

06:22 PM on 07/06/2011

...by axes you mean RENAME? C'mon huffpo, stop with the sensational headlines...

[Kmuzu]

06:06 PM on 07/06/2011

Axes is a bit strong and dramatic .. I think all that Google is doing is taking these two services and just melding them into Google +. Hopefully, they'll fix some of the annoying bugs in Picasa and have more ways to promote your site in Blogger.

[outlawwales]

05:09 PM on 07/06/2011

Does this mean I have to rewrite all my Picasa code in a website or will it still function into the future?

[Martin Bishop]

04:49 PM on 07/06/2011

Tough to get the balance right.Too many brands and Google's portfolio would be an unwieldy mess. Over-using Google risks stripping away its meaning. It used to be "search." What is it now? Maybe Google+ will be the glue that sticks all of Google's products together or maybe it will be one more piece of confusion. More at Brand Mix: http://bit.ly/nX63I6

[brandonrocks]

12:59 PM on 07/06/2011

google does not realize that not putting the google name into the blogger and picasa name gave them their own personality away from google, which i really liked, because in my opinion every time google puts its name on products imo it feels like google is going away from its original purpose as search engine.

[maxben]

02:50 PM on 07/06/2011

Google as ONLY a search engine? Yes, and lets all listen to our Backstreet Boys CDs and play Crazy Bones because its the late 90s again!
Where have you been over the last 10 years?

[eXpresso]

03:28 PM on 07/06/2011

I loved the 90s.

[brandonrocks]

05:02 PM on 07/06/2011

okay lets think about this, google's only reliable source of money is search they do not make any money giving the android os to phone makers, youtube is still not profitable, they make 95 percent of their revenue from adwords which is on search and all the other failed projects they have on their site(other than g-mail) and google

[craftycrow]

11:39 AM on 07/06/2011

I don't really care that they're re-naming them, but "Google Blogs"....how boring.

[man in the middle]

10:49 AM on 07/06/2011

Why do I hear the sounds of deck chairs being rearranged?

[Ramon Moreno]

01:57 PM on 07/06/2011

Your shuffleboard court is closing?

[Mahi Joe]

09:02 AM on 07/06/2011

This little survey brings up an issue I wish HP would address. Why the constant use of the word "hate" in their surveys?

[eXpresso]

03:32 PM on 07/06/2011

Because "look down on contemptuously" is too wordy.

[Mahi Joe]

03:49 PM on 07/06/2011

ok shorten that to "dislike" or "disagree" maybe?

[squat6971]

08:56 AM on 07/06/2011

Big meh

[Fortuna Victrix]

03:02 AM on 07/06/2011

Excellent long live Google !!! Death to FaceBook the dry toast of integer being.

[JasonMcl]

02:54 AM on 07/06/2011

The services will be just the same, if not a little better. Kind of a misleading headline.

[Allen Bouchard]

07:55 AM on 07/06/2011

Indeed, the headline made it sound like the services were going away and being replaced by something else. This is just a name change.

[Hardyman1966]

10:39 AM on 07/06/2011

More and more lately, largely due to new ownership I suspect, headlines do NOT match the story if we actually read it.  AOL likes its grabbers.

[genXter]

02:53 AM on 07/06/2011

Good move