Keep Calm and [Keep Using] Google Reader

Looking for a Google Reader alternative? Michael Hyatt writes:

On Wednesday, Google surprised denizens of the Internet with the news that they would be discontinuing Google Reader. This was a sad day for people like me who consume most of their blog content with this simple, easy-to-use RSS aggregator.

Almost immediately, I was flooded with messages from people wondering what I was going to do. You would have thought the North Koreans had just launched a missile against California!

Though I depend on Reader to forage the blogosphere in search of useful information for my tribe, I wasn’t in a huge hurry to solve the problem. After all, Google won’t be shutting down the service until July 1, 2013—more than three months from now.

As a result, I replied to these inquiries with, “I’m not sure what I will use to replace Google Reader. Right now, I am considering several alternatives.” But, that didn’t seem like a very good answer.

Full story at: 7 Reasons I Picked Feedly to Replace Google Reader | Michael Hyatt.

Like Michael Hyatt, I too, was bombarded by the same query from clients and students. Unlike Michael Hyatt though, I don’t recommend rushing off to find another RSS reader just yet…

In their announcement, Google says “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.” Regarding the first point, I think Google Reader usage has declined because Google has done a poor job of supporting the product and people are either unwilling or unable to do the work necessary to learn how to ‘speak’ rss and Google Reader. Google warned users that changes were coming on 11/1/11 when it ‘neutered’ Google Reader by removing some of its most popular features in favor of tighter Google+ integration. While it returned some of those key features without fanfare about a year later, many users had already moved on at that point…

Regarding the second point in their announcement, “and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products”, the mantra at Google has been “Google+ is the answer, now what is your question?” for almost two years now. I predict with a high degree of confidence that before July 1, Google Reader will appear in a Google+ incarnation; whether it does or doesn’t, you’ll be able to retain use of your feeds in another rss reader via Google Takeout.

Hyatt and I both agree that Feedly, with or without Google Reader, is an awesome rss reader and it is one that I have recommended on this blog since September of 2011! It still, however lacks some of the key features like synthesizing and publishing aggregated rss feeds that are a critical part of Google Reader…

3 months is a long time on the internet and in those next few months, Google will most likely announce their new “Google+ centric” rss reader and several companies like Digg and Feedly will announce new or improved versions of what they’re currently doing. In the meantime, Keep Calm and [Keep Using] Google Reader…