Well, so much for Google Reader.

[GasBandit]

Source.

Upcoming changes to Reader: a new look, new Google+ features, and some clean-up
Posted by Alan Green, Software Engineer

In the next week, we’ll be making some highly requested changes to Google Reader. First, we’re going to introduce a brand new design (like many of Google’s other products) that we hope you love. Second, we’re going to bring Reader and Google+ closer together, so you can share the best of your feeds with just the right circles.

As a result of these changes, we also think it's important to clean things up a bit. Many of Reader's social features will soon be available via Google+, so in a week's time we'll be retiring things like friending, following and shared link blogs inside of Reader.

We think the end result is better than what's available today, and you can sign up for Google+ right now to start prepping Reader-specific circles. We recognize, however, that some of you may feel like the product is no longer for you. That's why we will also be extending Reader's subscription export feature to include the following items. Your data belongs to you, after all, and we want to make sure you can take it with you.

• Your subscriptions
• Your shared items
• Your friends
• Your likes
• Your starred items

Like always, the new Google Reader will be a great place to read and share your feeds. And in addition to Google+, you'll still be able to share to almost any service using Send To. We're looking forward to launching the new features very soon.

Some commentary from techcrunch:

Today Google announced its long-ignored RSS app Google Reader is getting an update. Most notably, it’s getting a fresh new design along the same lines as Google’s other products, like Docs, Maps, Search and Gmail. While I’m not entirely thrilled about this change (I prefer the utilitarian look for the service), I understand Google’s need to maintain user interface consistency across its online products.

What really bothers me, however, is Google’s casual decision to remove all of Google Reader’s “social” features, including friending, following and shared link blogs.

Look, I get that there’s probably only ten of you out there reading this who care much about changes to Google Reader. For mainstream news consumers, that Google is now streamlining and beautifying this neglected product is probably welcome news. But for those of us who use Google Reader regularly as a utility – as a place to track, follow, archive and search dozens of sources of information from favorite blogs to company feeds and more – any change to Reader has the equivalent impact as an overhaul of Gmail. In other words, proceed carefully or prepare for an earful.

And in this particular case, here comes the earful: I’m going to miss the “social” features Google Reader delivers.

Wait, don’t laugh!

To be clear, I don’t really consider or use Google Reader as “social” product like Facebook, Twitter or Google+ (hence the quotes). I don’t comment much on feeds, or friend and follow dozens of users. But I do enjoy reading the shares from a select group of heavy-duty RSS consumers who are consistently sharing interesting items. When I’m behind on the day’s news, all I have to do is read TechCrunch, TechMeme and this carefully constructed “human curated” list of shares. It is, and will be up until the day it disappears, one of the most regular and enjoyable news consumption behaviors I engage in every day.

Although there are many other services out there that promise to bubble up relevant content based on my interests, the best product I’ve used to date was the human curation of my Google Reader friends. Not only did my group consistently share the top tech news I’d want to read, they also share those oddball but interesting stories from outside of tech, including humorous cartoons, popular videos, space and science news, parenting tips and other news completely unrelated to tech, but still compelling.

Of course, there were probably only a handful of us really using this feature, so of course, like all those other services Google is shutting down, it’s getting axed too. But Google, if you think I’m going to “Circle” this group in order to continue reading their shares, you’ve got another thing coming. You can’t force me into using Google+ by stealing pieces of Google Reader. That’s not how that’s going to work.

Let me repeat the last line of that again - YOU CAN'T FORCE ME TO USE GOOGLE PLUS BY STEALING FUNCTIONALITY FROM GOOGLE READER.

Until this change, I have used google reader both to read my feeds and read blogs I subscribed to... and also to e-mail or share content I thought other people I might know might like. It also had a handy way to import content into blogger. I really liked that. But if all that stuff goes away and it becomes just a glorified, castrated RSS feed agregator... shit.

 

[fade]

I have to tell you, I like it. I only ever used it as a portable aggregator anyway. Probably like 99% of its users. If taking that other crap away makes it smoother and cleaner, awesome.

 

[GasBandit]

I have to tell you, I like it. I only ever used it as a portable aggregator anyway. Probably like 99% of its users. If taking that other crap away makes it smoother and cleaner, awesome.

That's just what I'd expect a pharaoh-lover like you to say.

 

[Dave]

Man I'm not a fan of Google+.

 

[MindDetective]

I like Google+ better than Facebook. It needs more users but it is much more intuitive than Facebook ever was. Google knows design. I also like Google Reader. Since I use both, this doesn't bother me much. I hope my current apps that access Google Reader will be updated promptly, though.

 

[GasBandit]

Man I'm not a fan of Google+.

Me neither. I hate "social" websites pretty much universally. One of the things I really liked about Google Reader is that I could use it to completely automate the process of making a "shared items" html page that I could easily share the URL for with friends and family, so any of them with a web browser could look at it with no stupid accounts or social baggage getting in the way. Basically, it let me re-blog items from any of my feeds into a single, easy to navigate, self-updating webpage that I was able to add content to with a single click. I liked how it could recommend things for me that I might not have found otherwise, based upon which previous things I clicked "like" on. But I'm sure as hell not going to sign up for Google+ to keep that functionality.

It feels like, basically, I'm witnessing Google Reader have a stroke.

 

[fade]

Hey, I'm not much of a social media person either, but I solved the problem by not having any friends.

Also, Pharaoh-lover?

 

[GasBandit]

Also, Pharaoh-lover?

You heard me.

 

[MindDetective]

Hey, I'm not much of a social media person either, but I solved the problem by not having any friends.

Also, Pharaoh-lover?

It's the "You're Hitler!" from before Hitler. Gas is trying to bring it back and I fully support this meme. Anyone who doesn't is a Pharoah-lover.

 

[GasBandit]

Welp, it's gone live. Reader no longer supports "liking," "sharing," or the "note in reader" bookmarklet. I suppose I should count my blessings they still support e-mailing and exporting to blogger, though I hear tell Blogger might be coming up on the chopping block too.

But the ability to create and update my own html content list at a static url with single mouseclick will be sorely missed on my part, as will the "note in reader" bookmarklet.

 

[Hailey Knight]

Welp, it's gone live. Reader no longer supports "liking," "sharing," or the "note in reader" bookmarklet. I suppose I should count my blessings they still support e-mailing and exporting to blogger, though I hear tell Blogger might be coming up on the chopping block too.

But the ability to create and update my own html content list at a static url with single mouseclick will be sorely missed on my part, as will the "note in reader" bookmarklet.

Define chopping block. They might not have it work with Google Reader or they're planning to kill Blogger and all the blogs on it?

 

[GasBandit]

Define chopping block. They might not have it work with Google Reader or they're planning to kill Blogger and all the blogs on it?

It seems vague, but the whispers I hear talk about integrating Blogger into Google+. I don't know if that just means the "social" aspects of it, or if they plan to make it forcefully linked to a Google+ account. Or it could just be scuttlebutt.

 

[Covar]

Well Blogger is bigger than Google Reader ever was so I don't think it will be going anywhere anytime soon. I just see the use case to be too different from that of Google+ or Sites (speaking of which, what the hell is up with Google Sites? What's the point?). Blogger also got its Google facelift a few months ago.

Gas unless you're a Google Apps user you're about 1 click away from a G+ account. Then you can just make public posts from Reader and have the exact same functionality as you did before.

 

[GasBandit]

Gas unless you're a Google Apps user you're about 1 click away from a G+ account. Then you can just make public posts from Reader and have the exact same functionality as you did before.

No way. Not gonna end up in no circles no how. As I said on the first page, they can't make me sign up for Google+ by stealing functionality from Google Reader.

 

[fade]

I hear aluminum foil hats are great for keeping circles out of your brain.

 

[GasBandit]

I never had a myspace. I didn't join Facebook. I'm sure as hell not going to join Google+. Dedicated social websites are cultural, interpersonal cancer. Google reader may have had "social" tools but they didn't require a signup - they worked simply by building a dynamic .html, or by e-mail. IE - one way. I would push content when and how I saw fit, with no entry barriers to my targets, and the only return path is my e-mail. No drama, no photo tagging, no "in a relationship - it's complicated" no "STAN POKE YOUR GRANDMA."

 

[strawman]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=google+reader+open+source

 

[fade]

They're really only as cancerous as you let them be. They can be a useful tool. I have this remarkable filtering tool that sits behind my eyes that lets me safely ignore pokes and Whinebooking and what some kid I knew in high school had for breakfast and just use it as a mass communication tool.

 

[GasBandit]

They're really only as cancerous as you let them be.

You mean they're only as cancerous as you're willing to put up with expending effort in explaining to acquaintances and relatives as to why you're not constantly interacting with them on facebook. Maybe you come from a small and/or alienated family and/or circle of friends, but I just find it simpler to say "I don't have a facebook." If they want to talk to me, they can call me on the phone. If it's not important enough for a phone call, then I'm not subjected to it.

 

[Hailey Knight]

You mean they're only as cancerous as you're willing to put up with expending effort in explaining to acquaintances and relatives as to why you're not constantly interacting with them on facebook. Maybe you come from a small and/or alienated family and/or circle of friends, but I just find it simpler to say "I don't have a facebook." If they want to talk to me, they can call me on the phone. If it's not important enough for a phone call, then I'm not subjected to it.

This is why I shut down my Facebook.

The problem isn't how much you use it; it's how much other people expect you to use it.