Google Reader is out, loyal users frustrated
Google Reader will no longer be available to its dwindling, though dedicated, users beginning July 1, according to ABC News. Google is killing the service because its number of users is declining, and they would prefer to focus on fewer applications.
“We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience,” Google’s Alan Green wrote on Google’s blog late Wednesday night.
The service, whose few users are highly dedicated to the service, allows you to view all your RSS Feeds, usually headlines and articles from news organizations, in one central location. Beginning July 1, the application will be completely shut down.
As reported by ABC News, Google Reader’s devotes users took to social media to express their frustrations.
“Two weeks of no pope: baby cured of HIV, breath test for cancer, salt water found on moon of Jupiter. Day one with pope: Google Reader dies,” @sup3rmark tweeted.
David Carr of the New York Times expressed his frustration. “Always read about pulled plugs on product and say, no biggie. But #GoogleReader? They are shutting down my jam.”
While Google Reader does have its impassioned followers, many users have never relied on RSS services. Many people use social media like Twitter and Facebook to aggregate and collect their news these days.
“RSS never caught on as mainstream consumer experience but Google reader provided a powerful resource as a back-end aggregator that could sync content across applications and platforms,” Michael Gartenberg, Gartner research director, told ABC News.
Thankfully, there are some alternatives, like Netvibes, Reeder and Newsblur. Netvibes, for instance, is a free service that even has directions on how to import Reader information using Google Takeout.
