Google (s goog) is doing a second round of spring cleaning — its euphemism for small projects it finds unworthy of its time and efforts — and is killing off a whole bunch of projects, the biggest of them being Google Reader. In a blog post Wednesday afternoon, Urs Hölzle, Google’s senior vice president of Technical Infrastructure, announced the pending closure:
Everyone has a device, sometimes multiple devices. It’s been a long time since we have had this rate of change—it probably hasn’t happened since the birth of personal computing 40 years ago. To make the most of these opportunities, we need to focus—otherwise we spread ourselves too thin and lack impact. So today we’re announcing some more closures, bringing the total to 70 features or services closed since our spring cleaning began in 2011
The other projects that are being euthanized include Google Voice for Blackberry, Calendar API, Snapseed for desktop, Search API for shopping and others. However, it is the loss of Google Reader that is going to impact a lot of people — especially those of us who actually love using RSS feeds to plow through hundreds of feeds. I use it in combination with Reeder app on my iPad, iPhone and Macbook Pro to stay on top of the technology world.
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.
I take issue with Urs’ comments about usage declining. It declined because the company put no resources into the product and took away social features that made it useful for many. It was a project that was orphaned because it didn’t fit into Google’s vision of a machine-driven reading experience. Despite minimal resources devoted to it, Google Reader was one of the better apps built by the Mountain View, Calif.-based company.
It is probably my second-most used Google service — after GMail — and I have always been befuddled by Google’s lack of desire to make Google Reader into a bigger reading platform. It could and it still can evolve into a Flipboard type service, but that would mean that Google would have to put resources and some real creative thought into Reader.
I wish they would reconsider this decision or, better yet, release the project into the open-source community so that someone can build a follow-on product.
Update: Folks from Feed.ly are offering an option for all of us left at the altar by Google’s decisions.
Google announced today that they will be shutting down Google Reader. This is something we have been expecting for some time: We have been working on a project called Normandy which is a feedly clone of the Google Reader API – running on Google App Engine. When Google Reader shuts down, feedly will seamlessly transition to the Normandie back end. So if you are a Google Reader user and using feedly, you are covered: the transition will be seamless.
A Feedly spokesperson tells us:
Our goal is to have the API be identical to the Google Reader un-official API. So any client which plugs in to the API should be to easily migrate to Normandy. There are just a few things around authentication and ordering of categories and feeds which might be different.
This google reader news makes me sad. I’d be willing to pay for it if they would keep it going.
Yeah. The funny thing is they didn’t even ask for money.
Hi, small typo in the first line of your last paragraph, “me” should be “my”.
Hi Jacob,
Thanks for catching that. Fixed.
Google vacates reader market – classic ceding of ‘low value’ territory playing out.
no, help, what? I use it like crazy. What do I do?
Trying to find answers myself
There is another service called SwarmIQ. You guys should check it out!
Oh, snap! I really like Google Reader; use it multiple times a day. Om, I’m curious what RSS alternative you will switch to.
I also have to find a replacement for iGoogle, which is being killed in November. Figures – I had just found the perfect combo of widgets.
Kathy
My immediate bet would be something like Reeder running off an OPML file off my Dropbox account. I don’t see any other option just yet. I do find Feedly very useful.
I’m a long time user of Google Reader and this news is like a punch in the gut.
I’ve started kicking the tires of The Old Reader (http://theoldreader.com) and so far it looks like it is a pretty nice alternative – the UI is like a previous version of Google Reader…the version I liked the most. It is worth a look.
I was heartbroken on opening GR today. I always have Gmail and GR open on my web browser. I use it to browse hundreds of blogs quickly. It’s also the sole means I use to post to Google+. What the heck are they thinking? Google, stop trying to be Facebook! I realize you can’t be everything to everyone but this has to be the dumbest idea from a major tech corporation since that one company launched Wave. Oh wait…
Terrible news. I use Reader everyday on multiple devices. Wish they would reconsider this one.
In that all the alternative services are being smoked tonight should give Google an indication of the kind of usage they had. (Like they didn’t already know.)
I wonder if the Google Listen mobile app will go down along with Reader. They started tied up together, they still are, but now you do have a way of adding subscriptions on the Google Listen app independently.
Dammit. Besides email there is no other app I use on my phone more than Google Reader.
http://bringgooglereaderback.com/
Wow, this is befuddling. I’m willing to bet that the average Google Reader user was a power user, probably more valuable than the a typical Google user. I find it hard to believe they couldn’t find a way to monetize my wide range of interests I had subscribe to in Reader. Google has always been about mass market products and this decision shows what they think of users of successful niche products.
put the project in open source i mean common google you have millions of dollars for stupid glasses but you dont a some pocket change to keep reader going? shame
A sad day for the open web. Google is shooting themselves in the foot by antagonizing a very desirable demographic. Another irony is that this will increase usage of Twitter and the new Facebook Following News Feed. Serious RSS users, and there are millions of them, will switch to new readers. That being said SimpleFeed would be happy to buy Reader from Google.
Is all the traffic taking down Feedly? I haven’t been able to connect since the Google Reader news came out…Good point Om about lack of investment by Google as cause for any user decline.
Since start (8 years) I am using google reader 2-3 hours a day. Only source of reading stuff. Makes me very sad. Well there are alternative that I will check out but will this end of RSS in little long run?
I wonder how they measure usage? Do they include apps like Reeder that access it?
For me too, Google Reader is my second-most used Google service, after Gmail. I’ve been using it ever since the long-ago death of SearchFox, and I use it every day, often multiple times a day and from multiple devices. So I’m not happy about its impending demise.
Google rarely does things that strike me as foolish. This is one of those rare things. How is a company that wants and needs to customize search results based on personal interests not interested in continuing a service that does or at least should tell them a huge amount about the personal interests of its users? Is it really such a high-maintenance product? I’m a developer of web applications myself, and I don’t see why it would be. It’s hard to avoid suspecting that whoever made this decision was bent on cutting for the sake of cutting.
WTH. Om this calls for a public revolt!! I have like a 1000 feeds in my reader, some updating daily some yearly. What can we do to force google to overturn this decision? Could we rope in Scoble to unleash his army of followers against google to keep reader “alive” atleast?
Although I am disappointed by its loss, there have been stories since its beginning that its the smallest user base and the highest activity google property. And activity isn’t enough for them with a small user base.
Now this is just a “tin foil” hat idea and i know there are flaws but is it possible this is because of the “leistungsschutzrecht” and that they don’t want to have to deal with the implications if it goes through in the worst case scenario and in other countries? I know they could just disable reader in those countries instead of making us all suffer, maybe the bill is just an added reason to get out of feed readers. I also think that Google News is also on the way out if this is going.
I love using Google Reader. I go through over 1500 feeds+ a day using it. I am not surprised though, when you think about it, they have buried it for years, making it difficult to access. Thanks to the App in Chrome I get it right away, but if you were trying to find it from your Gmail screen, you have to look deep under “More” to find it.
As a blogger this is a bad news and now need to see what are the alternatives. Or wait I guess someone might be writing a post 🙂
This is sad as I rely on Google Reader for both personal and professional use daily.
But it’s less about Google Reader than it is about gReader for me. I use the Android app to do probably 90%+ of my RSS feed reading.
If there was a way for me to keep using gReader, then I’m happy. Perhaps the Feedly clone of the API will be the answer.
This is terrible news. As of now, there is no other RSS reader that can match the productivity and simplicity of GReader. I hope GReader can some how survive as an open source project.
Cribbed from Twitter:
Breaking news: with only $48B in cash remaining on hand, Google can no longer afford a few AWS servers to run Google Reader
Flipboard says that my feeds will be safe. I wonder what they will do?
I’m wondering too. It’s currently my primary means of reading stuff from my Google Reader list. I’m hoping that they’ll retain the OPML date inside your Flipboard account, and give you the option to add or remove feeds from it.
Reblogged this on WithDee and commented:
Because of Google+?
Since page took the helms the user doesn’t matter to Google anymore.
Reader was the site i used the most so this is particularly annoying but every little change Google makes lately is bad and if they keep going on this path they might make more money short term but long term they are toast.
They are not paying attention to any of their assets while focusing on Glass and cars ,things that might come one day ,unless they screw it up.
Page is driving with his eyes shut ,ignoring the present while dreaming of a rosy future.
$100 a year is a lot for someone in India. So there need to be more choices in the poll! If it was something that I could get as a cohesive add on for other google services at a reasonable price, I’d definitely pay for it. One thing though: This will again ignite the market for feed readers. More competition, perhaps more innovation too.
Truly devastated by this (no overstatement). I read all of my Reader feeds using NewsRob on Android and will now likely have to find somewhere to rehost my Google Reader OPML. I’ll also miss the IFTTT recipe which tweets all of my starred posts. In looking for a new solution here, I’m also going to try and solve the duplication issue that I currently have as I read GigaOM, paidContent and paidContent UK (amongst many others) and there is plenty of duplicate articles across these three feeds. It would be great to find a service which could de-dupe a bunch of OPML feeds.
Thanks Om for this post. I’m actually not that pessimistic. I think Google may actually be opening a great door for innovation to come back to reader.
Did you know that WordPress.com offers a great Reader? There are a lot of alternatives. Keep hope, and maybe try to make sure that http://gigaom.com/ keeps their feeds up!
http://blog.superfeedr.com/state-of-readers/
PS: I’d love your feedback on https://www.subtome.com/
Why do this? I really don’t think Google thought this one through. Do they understand the type of person who would use Google Reader? Not everyone wants to get their “news” from social sources; Many people – like myself – have curated their feeds/lists in GReader for a number of years so that they can get access to the news they want, quickly. It was simple, clean and did the job without all the bells and whistles.
Twitter and Facebook etc just wont cut it. Seriously, Google … this has got to be one of the strangest moves of recent times. GReader was a niche product, a strong niche imho, and by closing it down it will cause a lot of mayhem for many.
I hope Google rethinks.
This is just the latest example of how Google cannot be relied up to support the services they launch – the first big one was the decision to close iGoogle – used by millions of people as their home page; now Reader goes. I’ve switched from everything Google to apps that do just as good a job, but aren’t tainted by the Google connection. Get with it folks – not only can Google not be trusted to “do no harm”, it can’t be trusted – full stop.
I stopped using Reader when they updated to the new format because it was completely unusable on the small screen(netbook 7″) I use to do most of my web browsing. After a month of putting in suggestions and complaints and asking for alternatives, I gave up. Forcing reader, which is a very specific sort of app, into the standard Google format is what killed it for me.
With 9,735 feeds in my Google Reader it’s the best magazine I have ever read – I see the popular media like GigaOM, but I also see the long-tail of the blogsphere that provides value to all of us. Google no longer wants to index and organize the web. My guess – they kill Blogger next.
I think Blogger is safe, for now. But I expect that Google Friend Connect will either disappear or become part of Google+ in an effort to hook more of Google’s users into their social web. The only other service that Friend Connect linked up to was Reader, so with that gone I think the writing is on the wall…
I’m shocked too. Perhaps usage was declining, but the core userbase is made up of extremely high value/high engagement types. It’s almost like Google owned a really desirable market and is completely throwing it away. Who does that?
From what I have read in the past, Google FeedBurner is going away as well. This and Google Reader are two services that are used by millions. Should be interesting to watch how people adapt to the changes along with some sites plummeting because of RSS feeds they have created from Google FeedBurner.
I think the fault was all ours to believe in just one vendor an basically give up on others. The key issue here is what happens next. I really wonder if we will see something at this scale again in the RSS Reader business. Thoughts?
Don’t think Google has a clear strategy about where each product should be placed. They started G+ instead of building it on Gmai , Gtalk , Reader and so on and build on something we already used . Reader ,Calendar and Alerts could be subsections of Google Now but it seems that Google is too fragmented to do it right.
Google is killing Reader but i don’t think they considered indirect revenue and the strategic importance of the product .How many links on social networks originate from a Reader user and how costly is it to lose that user?
Social is a bubble right now and fatigue should start to hit soon causing a decline in usage and killing some sites, Reader is a very efficient tool that could grow if promoted a little bit. Information overload has been a significant problem for many of us for quite some time but for most , that are only now online a lot because of new devices ,it’s only starting to be a problem and Google should be putting more effort into helping us with that problem ,instead of killing such products.
Unsurprisingly, Dave Winer has had a *lot* to say on the subject of Google Reader and RSS feeds. This post in particular – http://threads2.scripting.com/2013/march/oneGreatThingAboutTheDemiseOfGoogleReader – suggests that not only did Google pretty much run all the other RSS reader services out of town, it then proceeded to bend RSS itself out of shape to suit itself. Sounds awfully familiar – I recall similar accusations made at Apple for doing a similar thing to podcasts by having its own standard for publishing via iTunes.
I suspect that the demise of FeedBurner could prove even more problematic. A lot of blogs and podcast sites are going to have to create new feed mechanisms – and in the latter case, possibly have to fork out for extra capacity from their ISP or content distributor.
Dave also has some suggestions for those thinking of creating a new Google Reader – http://threads2.scripting.com/2013/march/theIdealRssReader – time will tell how many can rise to the challenge *and* stay the course…
Will Flipboard be a good alternative?
Does this mean that any reader that uses Google Reader as the source won’t have any feeds after July 1st?
100$/year is too much, I would bay ~60$. Only.
Pay* jeez.
Google Reader (with NewsRob on Android) is my main mechanism of keeping in touch with emerging technologies, companies and industry trends. I would be lost without it. Truly lost. I know that someone (Feedly, NewsBlur, Digg or whomever) will fill this void if Google decides to keep Reader on Death Row. But what a crying shame. End of an era. Come on Google, do the right thing here!
The petition to get GOOG to reconsider at change.org is now at 112,237 signatures; “only” 37,763 remaining to hit the 150k target!
I just signed up; I was the 112,237th signature 😉
https://www.change.org/users/timodonoghue.
This sucks. Next they’ll decided to end gmail.
google got a problem coming or already happening, if they are closing down 70 lagging products to focus on its core business. means, some crazy stuff is happening at google. I expect some bad news by end of the year.