15 March 2013

Say goodbye to Google Reader

It will no longer be available.  This announcement from the Google Reader Blog:
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.

To ensure a smooth transition, we’re providing a three-month sunset period so you have sufficient time to find an alternative feed-reading solution. If you want to retain your Reader data, including subscriptions, you can do so through Google Takeout.
There's some discussion of alternatives at Reddit.  I think a lot of people access TYWKIWDBI via Google Reader; it will be interesting to see how the traffic changes over the next several months.

13 comments:

  1. The Mad HatterMarch 15, 2013 at 11:20 AM

    I read all my RSS feeds through Google reader but as soon as I was informed of that it was going out I switched to a desktop app reader.

    It's a real pain because I used two different goggle reader accounts to separate what I need to track for work and what I track for fun.

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  2. EricMarch 15, 2013 at 11:47 AM

    The first thing to remember is not to panic. Or is it "to not panic"? Anyway, remain clam. There's a lot of time between now and July 1 for people like digg, feedly and theoldreader to sort things out. The real bummer is that google reader was so great and free, they basically came into town and shoved other people out of business. Now that they're leaving, hopefully people can return to the system.

    One thing is certain, given how much I've come to rely on google reader, I'm definitely starting to worry about the next product to go. In the future, I'll seriously think about for-pay and freemium services, if that means (and I'm not sure that it does) they'll stick around longer.

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  3. MikeMarch 15, 2013 at 12:01 PM

    I've been checking out alternatives, but none suit me as did Google Reader. I imported all my feeds into Thunderbird, but so far I don't care for it all that much. I also have tried Feedly and I really don't care for it. I guess I'll keep looking. I'd hate to have to subscribe to all my favorite sites via email.

    The 'net (Google) is conspiring against me, I think. First this news about Reader, then I find I can't block ads on YouTube anymore. I'm gettin' a little paranoid that Blogger might be the next to get the ax.

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  4. dronirMarch 15, 2013 at 5:33 PM

    I switched to Feedly on a friend's recommendation after I heard the news about Reader. It's fairly similar in user interface, and migrating all my feeds from Google Reader took two clicks. It has an app for iOS/Android/Kindle Fire and seems to work well otherwise too, so I'm not too worried about the change.

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  5. alviondMarch 15, 2013 at 5:34 PM

    I read all my feeds through Google reader, too. I found feedly.com as an alternative and actually I should have done it before. First, I finally cleaned up my rss feeds and second, feedly has far more features than the google reader. And because it is based on the google reader it has all its functions.

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  6. otterdaughterMarch 15, 2013 at 5:39 PM

    I use Blogger to follow the various and sundry blogs of interest to me. Never had any problems with it, so you might give it a peek.

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  7. francoise_hardyMarch 15, 2013 at 6:14 PM

    I use Netvibes. Never really got on with Google Reader.

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  8. UnknownMarch 15, 2013 at 7:01 PM

    I have been using Google Reader since its inception and found this news terribly disappointing. I just migrated to Netvibes today and it seems to work sufficiently. It has more bells and whistles than GR does (did), but that's not necessarily a good thing.

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  9. BarbwireMarch 15, 2013 at 10:04 PM

    I am such a Neanderthal that I have no idea what a reader is. To me, I am a reader. I go from site to site. I truly have no idea what Google Reader does/did. It must be really great or so many people wouldn't be upset.

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  10. IonutMarch 16, 2013 at 1:44 AM

    I've been using Reader for such a long time now that I feel uncomfortable around any alternative. Still I hope Feedly will do, if not, that Live Mail thingy of Windows.

    I used to be a huge Google fan, but I'm cooling down fast. A few years ago there was all this mockery of Internet Explorer's many toolbars, but now, if you are using Gmail or make a simple Google search, you have to put up with three toolbars, non-optional.

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  11. UnknownMarch 16, 2013 at 2:24 AM

    I've been using and loving Reader for years now, it's how I consume all of my internet content from one simple portal. I've now switched to the paid version of NewsBlur, which has integrated sharing/commenting that Google removed from their own Reader. Not looking back.

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  12. nolanddaMarch 25, 2013 at 3:26 PM

    I have migrated to TheOldReader with some success. I think it is going to be my Google Reader replacement.

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  13. nolanddaMarch 25, 2013 at 3:29 PM

    Sorry that should have been a link to - http://theoldreader.com/

    test.

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