Google to rebrand Picasa and Blogger as 'Google Photos' and 'Google Blogs'

It's going to be all Google and only Google once the Google+ takes off. The search engine giant has plans to retire several non-Google brand names like Picasa and Blogger and rename them as Google products.

The latest move by Google doesn't mean that Picasa and Blogger will be stopped, but instead, they will be renamed as Google Photos and Google Blogs respectively, a Mashable report said.

Apart from Picasa and Blogger, other Google brands are also likely to be rebranded. However, popular video sharing service YouTube will not get affected.

This is the first time when Google is renaming its brands. Back in 2006, Google acquired Jotspot and after two years, rebranded it as Google Sites. Similarly, it acquired VOIP platform GrandCentral in 2007 and relaunched it in 2009 as Google Voice.

It was in 2003, when Google acquired Blogger, co-founded by Evan Williams of Twitter. One year later, it acquired Picasa.

According to the Mashable report, the conversion from Picasa and Blogger to Google Photos and Google Blogs will take place in a month to a month and a half. The report further stated that the final date of the transition lines up with the likely public launch of Google+. The new social network from Google is expected to launch publicly on or before July 31, the day on which all private Google Profiles will be deleted.

In a bid to usher in its new social network Google+, the company is going to stop allowing users to have profiles on its service without revealing their existence publicly, and it will be effective from August.

Possibly, some existing customers of Picasa and Blogger might get upset with the rebranding process. However, it'll be helpful for Google to completely incorporate both services into Google+.