Google Reader Closes Its Doors
Goodbye Google Reader… it was fun knowing you!
Google announced that they are closing Google Reader. Further emphasizing that they feel that RSS based tools are over. I’ve mentioned before that Feedburner is likely short-lived and this definitely supports that.
The news came in a blog post from Google, that read:
We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader.
Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.
On the Google Reader blog, they also added:
We have just announced on the Official Google Blog that we will soon retire Google Reader (the actual date is July 1, 2013). We know Reader has a devoted following who will be very sad to see it go. We’re sad too.
There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.
Do you read RSS feeds? Which feed reader do you use? What is your favorite way to subscribe to a blog you enjoy?
Two alternatives for Google Reader include Feedly & Newsblur. Both of these make migration pretty easy.
Other ideas include InstaPaper, Google Currents and Read Later, none of which fully offer the same feature set you are likely to be looking for from Reader.
I also use Blogtrottr to subscribe by email to any RSS feed I want in my inbox.
Do you subscribe differently to casual blogs you “kinda follow” vs industry blogs that you “don’t want to miss a thing”?
Will you miss Google Reader?
PS: If you’re REALLY going to miss it, there is a user petition started here: http://keepgooglereader.com/
