I love going through the latest news articles across the areas of my interest everyday in the morning. Now there are various ways I can do it. Any and every news websites segregate news into World, Politics, Sports, India, Mumbai et al. But not all sections are having quality news feed and editorials / analysis. This forced me to have a single area where I can get all the news and I can browse them based on what I feel like reading at that point in time. News aggregators and readers are one of the ways you can do it. And being a Google fan, Google Reader is the first product that I checked. No point in guessing I loved it and use it every day - multiple times. It's like my second email.
For someone like me who loves the product, its features and the clean interface, it came as a shock to me when Google decided to pop up this message when I logged on to Google Reader on 14th March -
This is what Google had to say in its official blog:
The reason provided is it that the users have reduced in the last few years and hence it makes more sense for Google to discontinue Google Reader and concentrate on products with a mass appeal. It surely makes sense from a business perspective. But don't you think Google is potentially compromising its loyal customer base it has? It's a risk which, I guess, Google is ready to take.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.
RIP Google Reader. Your loyal fans will miss you.
Anyways, there are many readers available in the market - some as good as Google Reader and some even better. Time for me to explore new products and I have 3 months to decide.
Anyways, there are many readers available in the market - some as good as Google Reader and some even better. Time for me to explore new products and I have 3 months to decide.
Suggestions are always welcome.
really sad... dont really know what they are thinking..
ReplyDeleteMe neither Doctor!
DeleteNow google withdrawing their non profitable products. They concentrate their flagship products
ReplyDeletethanks
I am not sure if non-profability is the reason. As they mentioned Krishna, its the lack of increase in users..
Deletehahahah you have lot of company :) down here!
ReplyDeleteMy hubs and his friends exchanged panic calls yesterday after seeing this message and hubs was almost in tears :D lol :D
I can understand you Binu :D I pray god to give you all to Cope up with the loss ! start your search now!
Hehe.. I can understand your hubby's reaction! :D
DeleteI have started my search and have shortlisted some.. Will use them for sometime and finalize one..
I don't like it, so it doesn't effect me but I can understand your problem. Explore for similar products and if you find something better, please share.
ReplyDeleteI have shortlisted some RSS readers Saru.. Will surely let you know when I finalize one..
DeleteI google every morning too. My daily dose of news :)
ReplyDeletePs : never was a google reader user. Somehow it didn't attract my attention :|
Same here Nia.. My source of news was from Google News and Google Reader.. Reader will now be replaced..
DeleteI hardly use this service from Google but still its sad to know about it's closure. Sorry to hear that you'll be missing it. But I'm sure you'll get some good alternatives though used to might take some time. Good luck, exploring new avenues :)
ReplyDeleteThere are some wonderful alternatives Arti.. That allows for more tweaking than Google Reader! :)
DeleteFinally, I found someone who's a fan of Google Reader! :) I am checking for some better alternatives and there are some.. Will share the one I finalized that will replace Google reader..
ReplyDelete