Picasa Web Albums vs. Flickr

I’ve just noticed that in the top left-hand corner of my Gmail account there’s a link to ‘photos’:

Whilst this is just an easier way to access something that was already available – namely Picasa Web Albums – it does mean that take-up is likely to explode. Much, in fact, in the same way that Google Reader has amongst RSS readers.

I don’t think this is a Flickr-killer. For one, you have to use an installed program (Picasa) to upload pictures. For another, it’s really aimed at people who want to share pictures with family and friends, not everyone.

Still, the 1GB of online storage and ease of accessibility and sharing are certainly welcome. I’ll be encouraging my family to use it in future!