Accurately Predicting Demand, Mike Harrington Co-founded Picnik!
Brilliant ideas often need to come at the right time in order for it to be recognized. Occasionally, there is an invention in the tech sector that fails simply because the marketplace was not ready for it or the supporting technologies did not exist to make it a success. But the success of online digital photo editor Picnik is the result of a good idea hitting the marketplace at precisely the right time. Much of the credit for Picnik’s success, then, comes from co-founder Mike Harrington.
At one point in his career, Mike Harrington was best known for the immensely popular video game Half-Life. Harrington was the lead programmer for Half-Life and he was a co-founder of Valve, the software company that produced Half-Life. Prior to starting Valve with Gabe Newell, Harrington was a software developer for Microsoft. His work in the tech sector began in 1985 when he went to work for Dynamix as a programmer. Following the success of Half-Life, Harrington took a sabbatical and traveled with his wife.
In 2005, Mike Harrington returned to the tech sector rejuvenated and empowered by the knowledge that he had an amazing idea that was set to take the digital photography marketplace by storm. Seeing the exponential rise of digital camera use on the Internet, thanks to the growing popularity of sites like MySpace and Facebook, Harrington realized there was no corresponding use of digital photo editors. Software like Photoshop was priced out of the market for the cellphone-wielding teens who were suddenly posting photographs everywhere online and it was of little interest to the more casual digital photography enthusiasts who were becoming enamored with social media. But Harrington realized that many people posted pictures they were not happy with to the Internet simply because it was fast and convenient. He set about to make a web-based digital photo editor that would make editing pictures as fast and convenient and Picnik was born!
Picnik lived up to the concept Mike Harrington had. The Internet-based digital photo editor was immensely popular with photo enthusiasts and casual photography enthusiasts alike. Picnik was so popular, in fact, that after almost five years on the market, Google bought Harrington’s company! Rather than innovating their own photo editing suite, Google+ will use Picnik’s tools beginning in April of 2012. For taking a simple idea and executing it with such skill that Google could not compete (and had to buy the company out instead) is an impressive feat on the part of Mike Harrington.
With Google shutting down Picnik’s independent site, Mike Harrington is once again a free agent. As Harrington looks out at the market, we can only hope he does not disappear for another five year vacation before delivering another amazing product for Internet users!
About RESCUECOM:
RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.
For More Information, Contact:
David Milman, CEO
315-882-1100
david@rescuecom.com
Filed under: business, david milman, Google, Internet, networking, networks, news, online resources, online support, performance, rescuecom, software