5 ms·

Bring Back Google Reader

101 points by zachacole 14y ago

By Nathan Bashaw

stuqqq 14y ago
opensource it!
- lignuist 14y ago
  And host it.
damm 14y ago
meh, everyone and their father has written their own RSS aggregator in ruby. I guess we can expect to see more RSS readers in the future.
- cleverjake 14y ago
  It is not just an rss aggregator, it is the UI the keyboard shortcuts, the network of sharing, the discovery, autotranslation, market dominance (allowing for nearly any RSS client to keep everything in sync), and tons of more things. "Who needs gmail - There is a Mail gem"
  - skilesare 14y ago
    And most importantly the saving of history even if the feed goes down.
    - chii 14y ago
      yes! so far i have not found a mobile friendly web app that also saves your feed, or at least a significant amount like g reader. i wish they weren't shutting it'd down.
chrismorgan 14y ago
Hey—you’re using Google Analytics there. Aren’t you worried that will be shut down?
- nbashaw 14y ago
  Am I worried? No, I think there's about a 0% chance they'd do that.
- mkr-hn 14y ago
  As worried as I am that UPS will stop doing research on logistics.
sideproject 14y ago
props for registering the domain.
jjsz 14y ago
There's just too many alternatives and the market is crowded. Even with paying customers, they're focusing on other things..so they won't update the site for a while. If they bring it back, by the time they do, a better alternative wins and they go back into shutting it down. The gif is ok.
- twiceaday 14y ago
  When I was looking for an RSS reader on my iPad the vast majority synced only with Google Reader. It was either that, or use their account and be fed news instead of telling them exactly which feeds I want to read.
  - jjsz 14y ago
    That and they make you read them in huge squares instead of lists. One thing Google might do is automatically download all Google Reader users' data using https://www.google.com/takeout/ https://www.google.com/takeout/ and allowing those apps to access the data. I think I'm seeing Gmail go too for G+. Maybe not GCal because of GGlass but right now most of what's free from Google I'm seeing it gone in 3 years.
jayfuerstenberg 14y ago
Google reader isn't exactly a mission critical service but it gives this cheesy ad from Microsoft more credence... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6QI4KmlcQr4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=... The lesson here is that services can and do go away. If you can't accept that use products you install locally instead. I'll probably get buried for saying this but Google is well within its right to cut the cord on any service it offers.
zachacole 14y ago
By the way, credit for this site goes to Nathan Bashaw (@nbashaw). Just wanted to give him some props.
waterlesscloud 14y ago
Given the success of the Veronica Mars Kickstarter here, Google's next move should be obvious. :-)
ClintonWu 14y ago
If you're looking for an alternative to skim headlines please give Skim.Me (http://skim.me http://skim.me) a try. We're a startup releasing another version soon to help you keep up at a glance.
olifante 14y ago
Shutting down Google Reader makes a mockery of their famous mission statement: "Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."

101 points by zachacole 14y ago

By Nathan Bashaw

stuqqq 14y ago

opensource it!

lignuist 14y ago
And host it.

damm 14y ago

meh, everyone and their father has written their own RSS aggregator in ruby. I guess we can expect to see more RSS readers in the future.

cleverjake 14y ago
It is not just an rss aggregator, it is the UI the keyboard shortcuts, the network of sharing, the discovery, autotranslation, market dominance (allowing for nearly any RSS client to keep everything in sync), and tons of more things. "Who needs gmail - There is a Mail gem"
- skilesare 14y ago
  And most importantly the saving of history even if the feed goes down.
  - chii 14y ago
    yes! so far i have not found a mobile friendly web app that also saves your feed, or at least a significant amount like g reader. i wish they weren't shutting it'd down.

chrismorgan 14y ago

Hey—you’re using Google Analytics there. Aren’t you worried that will be shut down?

nbashaw 14y ago
Am I worried? No, I think there's about a 0% chance they'd do that.
mkr-hn 14y ago
As worried as I am that UPS will stop doing research on logistics.

sideproject 14y ago

props for registering the domain.

jjsz 14y ago

There's just too many alternatives and the market is crowded. Even with paying customers, they're focusing on other things..so they won't update the site for a while. If they bring it back, by the time they do, a better alternative wins and they go back into shutting it down. The gif is ok.

twiceaday 14y ago
When I was looking for an RSS reader on my iPad the vast majority synced only with Google Reader. It was either that, or use their account and be fed news instead of telling them exactly which feeds I want to read.
- jjsz 14y ago
  That and they make you read them in huge squares instead of lists. One thing Google might do is automatically download all Google Reader users' data using https://www.google.com/takeout/ https://www.google.com/takeout/ and allowing those apps to access the data. I think I'm seeing Gmail go too for G+. Maybe not GCal because of GGlass but right now most of what's free from Google I'm seeing it gone in 3 years.

jayfuerstenberg 14y ago

Google reader isn't exactly a mission critical service but it gives this cheesy ad from Microsoft more credence... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6QI4KmlcQr4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=... The lesson here is that services can and do go away. If you can't accept that use products you install locally instead. I'll probably get buried for saying this but Google is well within its right to cut the cord on any service it offers.

zachacole 14y ago

By the way, credit for this site goes to Nathan Bashaw (@nbashaw). Just wanted to give him some props.

waterlesscloud 14y ago

Given the success of the Veronica Mars Kickstarter here, Google's next move should be obvious. :-)

ClintonWu 14y ago

If you're looking for an alternative to skim headlines please give Skim.Me (http://skim.me http://skim.me) a try. We're a startup releasing another version soon to help you keep up at a glance.

olifante 14y ago

Shutting down Google Reader makes a mockery of their famous mission statement: "Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."