Google killing Google Reader
 

A real shame:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/...google-reader/

Very poor decision - and one I suspect will be met with a lot of backlash.

Other products and services set for the axe, as detailed here, include:

The GUI Builder and five UiApp widgets in its AppScript service, “to focus efforts on Html Service” as of September 16th.

The CalDAV API “will become available for whitelisted developers, and will be shut down for other developers on September 16, 2013.” The Google Calendar API is expected to pick up the slack.

Google Building Maker goes on June 1, but users will “still able to access and export their models from the 3D Warehouse”.

Google Cloud Connect is gone, superseded by Google Drive. The plugin to Microsoft Office popped files into Google Drive automatically, but left Word even less stable.

The Google Voice App for Blackberry will interpret its last utterance next week, replaced by an HTML5 site with similar functions.

Search API for Shopping goes, replaced by Google Shopping.

Snapseed Desktop for Macintosh and Windows won’t be sold or updated any more, but “Existing customers will continue to be able to download the software and can contact us for support. We’ll continue to offer the Snapseed mobile app on iOS and Android for free.”

what a boneheaded move.

as people try to flee, the servers of alternate rss readers are being overwhelmed and many of them simply use google reader for their backend.

-David

that was quick ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=A25VgNZDQ08

What is my alternative to google reader?

From Google's perspective, it is a good move if it leads to increased profits. RSS feeds are waning in popularity and it isn't a profitable venture for them. Social media technologies are becoming increasingly adept at disseminating news, so it makes a lot of sense from a business perspective for Google to encourage users to go that direction.

Feedly is a good one.

Cnet - Google Reader is dying, but we have five worthy alternatives

I quit using an rss reader a couple years ago(that I added feeds), no big deal. Mostly using flipboard now which is a lot like an RSS feed reader, but a much different way of working

Here's a Lifehacker article that discusses various alternatives to Google Reader. I haven't chosen one yet; so happy to add this to my to-do list.

yeah, this is really pretty darn lame. I think I've probably been using reader for nearly a decade now (or almost at least) and honestly, it's my start page, and the one I hit more often than ANY other page on the internet. think of all the linking, think of all the tabs I spawn out of there. Think of all the MEDIA and publishing companies and sites that uses it to filter the flood gates of the internet.. I'm really pretty surprised. I'm meeting with some Sr. Mgmt at goog later in the week and will certainly be letting them know that I think this is a bone head move. Yeah, the numbers are probably not there, but think about that TARGET audience.

Honestly, if I had to think about it Google Reader is one of the things on the internet that I WOULD pay for, at LEAST 20-25$ a year (must save me 100X times in time saved alone)

As the alternative, feedly seems okay. The fact that they are currently engaged with Google to basically fully integrate the API and the code/views in the feedly platform means that they could simply take over the lost souls (again, many of whom I would predict would pay for proper access)

As someone who refuses to participate in Facebook, I don't have a "social" alternative to get my news. I also don't find social dissemination to be at all on par with RSS feeds and I certainly don't want my news to be restricted to what my "friends" decide to post. If I want to read snarky comments about news headlines, I go to Fark.

Thanks to those who posted articles suggesting alternatives to Reader. I will be exploring options over the weekend.

The case you'd have to make to Google would be why it would become profitable for them to continue to support versus other methods of doing the same/similar. It's not just a matter of "is there anyone who still wants this?", as they're well aware that there are still many users, even though the popularity is waning. It's a question of "why keep supporting this when it's not as profitable nor as efficient as alternatives?"

Lots of ways to do it without relying on friends. As you already have a Google Account, you could try using G+ to get your news streamed, customized to precisely what you (not your friends) like, should you choose.

iGoogle is going away in November too. I can see stopping making updates to these tools but I don't get why they need to take them away altogether.

Very unfortunate news. :td:

My start page is essentially iGoogle (which is already being obsoleted by Google) filled with RSS feeds (mostly generated by Google Reader), so I am doubly hosed!

I use Feedly and Flipboard as interfaces to (not replacements for) Google Reader, so that I can easily view my customized content on different devices. I guess that's over now. :(

I am a long-time user of iGoogle too, but I can understand their logic. It's not just the cost of updates and support, but the opportunity cost of encouraging people to hang onto antiquated tools instead of moving to newer ones that are more integrated and profitable. They could offer to charge for some of the services to offset the lost revenue, but Google prefers to offer as much as they can free (ad supported), and given that there are better alternatives already out there, would seem a little silly.

In this case, I think want people's RSS to be replaced by G+.

Most people will just move to an alternative reader, but I guess any additional G+ page views are revenue-positive.

Though clearly G+ has nothing to do with "profitable" quite yet. :)

Maybe I am too set in my ways, but I didn't find any of the iGoogle alternatives I tried to be better in any sense. And frankly why do I have to learn another interface when I have one that works perfectly well for my needs?

Petition
 

Petition to ask Google to stop the slaughter of Reader. Don't know if it will make a difference, but no harm in trying:

https://www.change.org/petitions/goo...-running#share

I bet this is a ploy, they found some horrible way to integrate it with google plus, so when they bring back the lame thing, less people will complain about it.

-David

speaking of which ..

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013...art-of-google/

At least with picasa we have a choice to revert back to the old UI.

If Google wants to kill off a service that nobody wants, why not eliminate Google+ instead? That would free up plenty of resources to continue maintenance of Google Reader! @:-)

I tried feedly today, it's pretty good, I may stick with it. They are creating their own back end, meanwhile it's seamless with google reader credentials and subs. (use your google login, it will just pick up all your subs, do it now, before July 1).

I've tried a few others, none of them really panned out.

-David

Another vote for Feedly - spent some time searching for a replacement, and Feedly is what I'm sticking with for now.

It IS interesting. I've spoken with a number of bloggers in the past couple days and goog VC's, investors. The thing is, while G+ is the "future", (personally, I still consider it an also ran, it's more of an ANTI-FB than a goto, the percent of bloggers who see traffic from G+ vs. those who see traffic from Google Reader is nothing. Almost a rounding error. There are a couple who ONLY use G+, and therefore their numbers are much higher, but compared to offering both (or all including ezines, digg, etc.) reader still brings in the lions share. Still not really sure the motivation here.

I'm currently trying out NewsBlur, NetVibes and Feedly. I also wanted to try TheOldReader, but it's been unable to keep up with demand.

Thanks to Google regularly messing about with services people rely on, I've been edging more towards Microsoft of late. I was going to migrate completely to gmail and Google's calendaring tools, but working well with any device matters a great deal to me (hence my iCloud mail, calendar and cloud storage service is hardly ever used these days).

All this is also making me think twice about buying a Chrombook. Yes, I know at the moment a Chromebook will work very well with Microsoft's web based services (I use both Sky Drive and Google Docs) but Google are just too unpredictable for me. The same goes for Apple after the way they killed various Mobile Me service (and FGS, that was a paid service - you're supposed to be able to rely on those)!

Feebly is working AOK on my Wintel notebook.

Don't like it for my ICS Android mobile devices.

Here's a list that might help others find personal solutions they like.

http://www.rss-readers.org/list-of-rs-feed-reader/

Trust me, G+ is very profitable. That's why they are doing it... it is a business decision. It benefits the user, too, as it provides the same functionality as Google Reader plus the option of being interactive. Nothing is lost, and much is to be gained.

You're correct that many will whine and shift to an alternative reader, but if they move to a similarly antiquated one, they'll eventually move on.

There's no need to learn anything new with G+ if you ignore that additional features, but you might find it beneficial to engage with the quick learning curve.

It won't make a difference any more than it would have made a difference to protest when video stores started pulling VHS tapes in favor of DVDs (and later, shutting down all together). RSS feeds are an antiquated and inferior technology, and even though many people used to them will complain about changing to something better, it won't halt the progress. Remember also that Google isn't a government organization... they are perfectly entitled to take business decisions that benefit them (and in this case, their users too).

G+ is now the #2 social network and gaining quickly on Facebook. The perception that "nobody wants it" is because most people misunderstand social networks to be like Facebook where there is a "wall" where you directly post/share. G+ is essentially a layer of higher-level information built into the existing Google infrastructure... it is widely used, despite most users not even realize they are using it. That will change in time.

The cessation of Reader has nothing to do with a lack of resources available. It has everything to do with the desire to shift those resources to something more productive for both Google and their user base. They are well aware that many people will dig their heels in and stick with something like Feedly, but they know that as time passes, people will move onto more robust services and G+ will be one option some will move onto.

Oh, okay.

No. People just want a basic reader, regardless of your calling it antiquated.

Though their numbers have been dwindling, some people do, and they will shift to alternatives like Feedly. Alternatives like G+ do the same thing but provide also the option of interactive rating, sharing, discovery. Those features aren't desired by all, but may be ignored if that's the case.

It's possible that you don't personally use all the features of Google Reader, but AFAIK, Google+ lacks one of the most basic (and, IMHO, useful) features of Google Reader: the ability to maintain the state of read/unread articles. Not to mention that the Google Reader's API makes this state available across multiple devices.

If Google+ can't manage this fundamental task, it will be a fail (to me) as a replacement for Google Reader. But I don't think replacing Google Reader is Google's goal; if it were, it might have been better for Google to build Google+ on top of Reader than to try to recreate all the Reader functions into Google+.

My current RSS subscriptions are all managed through Google Reader with an RSS Reader on various platforms that links into Google Reader. Is there a way to now export the feeds in Google so that they can be re-subscribed through another reader or do I have to input them all myself?

Google is becoming more like Apple all the time. Refuse to provide services that folks want/need to force them into something that benefits Google (like Apple did with Flash). Rather than innovate, Google stops innovation in order to foist something on folks that benefits their elimination of privacy (by building a dossier & tracing folks) and attempts to drive revenue.

Look at last week's news that they have blocked ....... Plus from the Google Play market. Congrats, Google, by doing so, you have caused me to move to Firefox Mobile, which despite a few shortcomings allows me to easily use ....... Plus on my mobile browser.

Absolutely: http://mashable.com/2013/03/14/expor...google-reader/

I did this and successfully imported my feeds into 4 other services.

Google is nothing like Apple. Google provides *choice*. They allow you to opt out of services, move your data freely, and they even allow competing software and devices to interact and port. By ceasing to invest in a service that has waning interest and a superior (and more profitable) alternative, they aren't "forcing" anything. They know that many users will flee to similarly antiquated services in the short-run, and this is a calculated loss. They will work to win those users back with a better (and also free) product in G+.

Another difference from Apple is that they offer many of their products free, supporting them with ads rather than charging huge premiums. That's not necessarily better, but it opens to door to those who can't afford Apple premiums.

Regarding the ads themselves... Google has succeeded by working to make ads targeted and useful rather than annoying and without value. To many, it's an appealing alternative to paying for products and subscriptions directly. Google has every right to protect their platform against poaching and free loaders. Asking them to allow ....... would be like expecting Microsoft to allow updates of cracked versions of their software. Apple, on the other hand, does it very differently. They aren't merely trying to stop their products from being abused/stolen; they block competing products because they fear the competition.

I just switched over to Feedly. It easily transfers not only your old google reader feeds but also all your saved posts, which is the biggest thing I wanted to save.

I find it hard to believe I am so far outside the norm, but Google has killed basically every one of their tools that I regularly used. Very frustrating! Luckily there are other tools out there waiting for our business.

You and I will have to disagree.

While your statement is the potential *promise* of Google, it is NOT the way business is being conducted. I see plenty of signs that Google is purchasing companies with the intent to shut them down. You cannot opt out of some Google tracking - and if you want to use the contacts list on your Android you cannot keep it local... it will be sent to their servers.

At one time Google offered choice. It no longer does.

From my perspective, as long as Google offers a "store" the failure to impartially offer products is wrong, even if it allows folks to do something that alters the "business model". If it were true "choice", I would have the choice to purchase a product and not see ads (or have my movements tracked).

I will stand by my statement that Google is becoming more like Apple on each and every day. I am far from being an Apple fan-boy, and I used to like the promise of Google, but their actions ranging from removal of apps from the store to their stated disdain for intellectual property rights is very troubling.

Much of what I said is fact, not opinion. Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and many other big companies readily acquire smaller start-ups strategically to utilize their tech, add market share, and other competitive reasons. Not unique to Google and isn't inherently restrictive of choice.

You can opt out of not only ad tracking, but various aspects of all services. All in one place: Google Dashboard. Of course, you have the ultimate control of simply not using or not adding information, and if you do and change your mind later, simply removing it and closing your account.

Again, you do have choice. Google is one of the biggest privacy and open-platform advocates in the world, and that extends to their Play Store as well. The limitations in place are vastly less restrictive than Apple's, and prohibit things like phishing, porn, spam, illegal activity, etc. Their decision to exclude software designed to steal from Google (harming other users as much as Google) is hardly an attempt to limit free choice.

Back to the topic of Reader... Google gave fair warning and isn't hoarding your data. They are all for free choice, and they know that millions will flee to Feedly and similar services. They are simply taking a business decision that is their prerogative to encourage users to migrate to a superior service they now offer, rather continue to offer a free service that is waning in popularity.

Thanks Katja, I will sort the transition out over the next few days.