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Google Reader is Shutting Down, Worst Day Ever

Google Reader is my most beloved Google app and I thought they’d never shut it down. It is endlessly useful, I would pay for it, and now it is going to be gone.

Yes, I know there are probably tons of alternatives, but I love my Google Reader setup exactly the way it is and I am pissed. I kind of want to stop using Gmail in protest… but where else is there to go.

Read the post from Google for the full story, but the bottom line is that it will be gone July 1st.

I’m just so sad right now, I’m just going to listen to this on repeat:

22 Comments

  • Marcel

    I don’t know what I will do without it, I literally use it more than any other website or service. And it is my #1 app on Android.

    This is a terrible decision, surely they should evolve it into something more attractive for maintream users, perhaps an extension of Google News, rather than force their users onto services by other companies.

    *sob*

  • Jyoseph

    I am ticked!! I use it every day and have for many years. I’ve built up my feeds over time, categorizing and pruning them. And now it’s all gone. I’m mad/sad!

  • GPB

    Google sucks. I can’t believe they would do this.

    Open source the server code, let me roll my own! Something.

    This just pisses me off. They have been screwing me by dropping picasaweb support, now they screw me on this. Glad I never moved my primary mail to gmail.

    Screw you google. Screw you. In the butt.

  • Kurt K

    The only reason I ever comment on things is google reader related because it does such a good job of streamlining so many different sources. Flipboard is OK but only as an alternate google reader reader… Sad day indeed.

  • t i

    I would suggest giving Google Currents a spin on ios/android. It supports your personal RSS feeds in addition to big-publisher content.

    • Barry

      Currents is a dead man walking, mark my words. And screw Google, why should I keep using their services if they keeping turning off the ones I like?

  • Dennis Rice

    By killing Reader, which I use all day, every day Google is driving home the point: “Don’t use/rely on our products! The more you love it, the worse it’ll be when we kill it.”

    Point taken.

  • Shaon Diwakar

    Hi Danielle,

    I hate to spam on peoples blogs, but I’m the co-founder of a soon to be released startup called News Maven (http://newsmaven.co) we’re taking the best of old school Google Reader and making our own product.

    Would love to get people signed up to our beta list and help us test & improve our product.

  • Carlos Alberto Santos

    Absolutely upsetting news. Coincidently this week I was thinking to myself how my life is so much easier with such a useful, portable and easy to use service as Google Reader. It’s only behind my Gmail by thin hair in terms of usefulness and tim I spend on it.
    I’m absolutely perplexed with such news, and I even dare to start believing that Gmail might no be so safe to rely on at all.
    Disgraceful and a paramount of stupidity of Google in axing it.

  • Rob

    Does anyone know of any standout alternatives to use? I enjoy having access to people’s sites easily so I can converse.

    I still love Google. I’m sad, but business is business.

  • Karl

    @Rob, you should check out Feedly. I like the way it works. I linked my Feedly to Google Reader and they said in their blog today that the transition would be seamless when Reader goes away.

    Once I started using Feedly, I stopped logging in to Reader. I tried the Currents app on my phone, but it doesn’t work as nice as the Feedly app. I know some people love Flipboard, but I wanted something I could use on my laptop or on my phone.

  • Aaron Wright

    I suggest you try Feed Fiend, available at FeedFiend.com. It is a nice simple alternative to Google Reader, and it’s one-click subscribe tool makes it easy to find great new content. It will also have a Google Reader importer available soon, so you can import your feeds from Google. Go give it a try.

    Aaron Wright, FeedFiend.com

  • Di

    Totally not happy about this either…
    Side note though, did someone really say Outlook.com is better than Gmail? HA!
    Anyway, I want my Google Reader 🙁

  • mtnrunner2

    I’m bummed too. I’ve looked into alternatives, but haven’t decided yet.

    IMO, the objective difference between OSes/apps is not as great as advertised by fans, it all depends on what you need to do and whether a particular feature happens to be critical or very useful to you.

    Hence, omnivorousness: I have a Gmail account that I forward to Hotmail (sorry Google, prefer plain folders/rules over labels), I run Windows on a Mac, and boot into Mac OS when I need a particular app. Etc.

  • Will Claxton

    First they are getting rid of IG, now they are getting rid of Reader.

    Will be interesting to see everyones blog subscriber counts drop by over half on July 1st.

    I am beginning to dislike Google more and more every day. I wonder when they will shut down gmail?

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