Google Reader RIPS

By Xah Lee. Date:

wow, Google Reader is going away. Seems the writing's been on the wall since past couple years when blog sites are going down left and right. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-second-spring-of-cleaning.html

Note: Safari also removed RSS feature from their browser a year or 2 ago.

end of a era.

with Google Reader going away, i think it'll have a major impact on blog reading. Many users of Reader, will probably not bother and more or less stop reading many blogs.

… now now… it comes to me, that this decision by Google must be strongly influenced by Google Plus too. With Reader gone, blogs reading will be significantly reduced, and Google Plus would benefit.

… am trying to think of some consequences… impact of this. I suppose Google FeedBurner (a RSS tool for publishers) will be shutting soon too. Then, i am thinking Google Blogger's fate is also uncertain, within a year or 2. (maybe not, because Blogger run Google ads)

by the way, if you don't already know, many other major RSS aggregator or site services shut down few years ago, citing reduced users.

also, Google shut down Google ads in RSS Feeds on , also shut down FeedBurner API, also quietly let their FeedBurner Japanese domain expire. Also closed their FeedBurner Twitter account and blog. FeedBurner site itself haven't seen a update for years.

which browser still has RSS service? I know Firefox still does. IE too i think. And Opera, but nobody's using Opera. Thunderbird also supports RSS.

but in a sense am glad it's gone. Because it was a blood sucking thing, like Google image search and others, taking other's people's work into Google. Without, the control returns to people, to the spirit of internet, where people take a more active role in choosing and visiting sites, with bookmark or browser based RSS Reader, not centrally controlled.