• Telegraph (UK) et al., Tuesday, March 2, 2010 1:02 PM

Even if they are merely dalliances as far as Google is concerned, the search giant's acquisitions and sideline pursuits have a history of reshaping specialties, shuttering startups, and, as often as not, opening up new realms of entrepreneurial opportunity. Enter Google's latest prize: photo-editing website Picnik.com. What does it mean?

Well, Google already made its interest in the online photo market known when it snatched up photo storage site Picasa back in 2004. The Telegraph, however, notes that Picnik "is distinctive primarily because of its integration with social networks" -- An attribute that ties in nicely with Google's broader social aspirations.

Also, Picnik lets users edit photos online, and then save their changes "in the cloud" -- before sharing them immediately via Facebook or MySpace. Thus, the deal adds another cloud computing tool to Google's arsenal, remarks eWeek.

Indeed, Brian Axe, product management director at Google, touts Picnik as 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," Axe wrote on the Google blog.

Meanwhile, suggesting ulterior motives behind the deal, MediaMemo makes mention of the fact that Picnik is essentially "the default editor for Yahoo's Flickr." In late-2007, Yahoo tapped Picnik to give its users better photo editing tools.

But Google promises to play nice. "We believe that openness is always the best approach and will allow third-party sites to continue to integrate with Picnik," the company told TechCrunch in a statement.

Where might the acquisition lead Picnik and Google? Well, "While web-based photo editors are incredibly useful ... perhaps a more interesting emerging area is mobile photo editors," writes GigaOm. "There are a whole bunch of popular, creative and paid photo apps for the iPhone -- though not with a ton of crossover to the Picnik category, probably because of Apple's exclusion of Flash."

Likewise, "A possible scenario could see Picnik join the ranks of Google Apps, a suite of online products from the company that are designed to replace their desktop-based competitors," suggests the Los Angeles Times' Technology blog.

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