[LINK] 'The End of Google Reader ...'

[Roger Clarke]

[Serious Question:  How long will it take Google to overtake 
Microsoft's record for the most failed business lines in the history 
of the world?

[And the commitment to customer service is quite something, isn't it:
"the handwriting has been on the wall for quite some time, as the 
Reader user base was clearly in decline".

[The posting is from a strong libertarian who does a lot of great 
work on privacy, and who has a very large blindspot where Google is 
concerned.]


>         The End of Google Reader Is Not the End of the World
>
>             http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001014.html
>
>Google announced today that their Google Reader RSS system will be
>discontinued on the first of July, with capabilities provided
>immediately for exporting all relevant subscription and related data.
>
>Google's statement triggered an outpouring of wailing on the Net that
>literally (at least according to various social trending indicators)
>surpassed likely much more important news suggestive perhaps of future
>integration of Google's Chrome and Android operating systems, and even
>another matter of interest to some number of billions of Catholics on
>this planet.  Even Hitler "weighed in" with an expletive-laden
>rampaging subtitle rant against Google's move, courtesy of the now
>seriously worn out "Downfall" movie meme.  Petitions (yes, even one of
>the goofy White House petitions) immediately popped up demanding that
>Reader be retained.
>
>The detailed reasons behind the announcement haven't been officially
>discussed, but the handwriting has been on the wall for quite some
>time, as the Reader user base was clearly in decline and Reader
>improvements pretty much ground to a halt.
>
>In some quarters today, the old "RSS is dying anyway" platitude could
>be heard, but while there's some truth in that, RSS is far from dead.
>
>To be sure, my initial response when reading of Reader's demise this
>morning was a rather loud "Ouch!"
>
>I'm a very heavy Reader user.  I almost always have a Reader tab open,
>and I use various apps on my Android devices to keep Reader in sync as
>I quickly scan for potentially interesting news items through the day.
>
>So yes, I am going to miss Google Reader.
>
>On the other hand, it's not as if Reader is the only game in town for
>dealing with RSS, even when you're working with multiple devices as do
>I (and presumably, as do most of you).
>
>For example, feedly.com offers a free slate of reader apps for desktop
>browsers, Android, iOS, and more, and they're promising to provide
>their own backend to seamlessly replace Reader's feed functions.  In
>my early testing linking Feedly to the existing Reader infrastructure,
>the results have been very good both on the Chrome browser and
>Android.  Right now Feedly is somewhat overloaded -- not at all
>surprising under the circumstances today -- but if their service pans
>out as promised I don't think I'll have any problem at all living with
>their apps (which, by the way, can be configured to very closely
>approximate the Reader look and feel).
>
>There are a wide variety of other RSS readers of course, and I've
>heard rumors today of new "Google Reader clones" being planned as
>well.
>
>The upshot of all this, especially in light of the provided ability to
>export existing Reader data for input into other systems, is that
>while there's likely to be a bit of hassle involved in the short term,
>the end of Reader will not signal the end of RSS.  In fact, RSS may
>actually become healthier with so much new energy being injected into
>other reader applications and associated systems.
>
>I'm as lazy as anyone else when it comes to getting comfortable and
>complacent with familiar apps.  All else being equal, I'd have
>preferred that Reader continued, even though, truth be told, Reader
>has definitely gotten rather long in the tooth.
>
>So yeah, the end of Reader is something of a bummer.  But
>realistically, in context, it doesn't push very far into the bummer
>scale.  Reader users are encouraged (to paraphrase an old song) to
>pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try some new RSS apps.
>
>Now, what else happened in the news today, again?
>
>--Lauren--
>Lauren Weinstein (lauren at vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
>Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
>Founder:
>  - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
>  - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
>  - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
>  - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
>Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
>Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
>Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
>Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
>
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>
-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law               University of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University