You can imagine the scene when I logged into Google Reader this morning to be greeted with a pop-up saying Reader will close on 1st July…
I LIVE in Google Reader, it’s how I read so many blogs online. With 261 subscriptions in folders ranging from blogging to marketing to SEO, Google Reader is perhaps my most organised and most used tool online. Hair tearing and teeth gnashing wasn’t the half of it, the air turned blue! I am an RSS junkie! I know many others are too.
Google’s Alan Green posted the announcement on the Google Reader Blog saying;
There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.
Google reader may not be the sexiest platform on the web, but it works and is incredibly useful. So what are the Google Reader alternatives? I spent the morning finding out…
Contents
Google Reader Alternatives
Feedly
Feedly already integrates with Google’s API and state in their blog post that if you sign up with Feedly before July 1st then the transition will be painless. I hope it is! Feedly is available for Firefox and mobile both Android and iOS.
Since a lot of my Twitter updates come from articles I have read in Google Reader, I will be using the Feedly feature to tweet what I read!
Google Currents
This is mobile only for Android and iOS. My Local Business Online blog and YouTube channel is available through Currents if mobile reading and watching is what floats your boat. Subscribe from your phone or tablet here. With Reader dying, no doubt this app will become more popular.
Not every blog you read will be available though. If you want to publish your blog through Currents, you need to use Chrome and create an account at https://www.google.com/producer/home
Newsblur
Newsblur is a nifty looking RSS reader available on the web and mobile. There’s a “Blur Blog” where you can share stories with other readers too.
This does have a free option but with a limit of 64 sites and 10 stories at a time it’s not for me. The premium upgrade is $1 per month, which made me think, “What’s the point in that?” Obviously that is worth paying if this reader is your cup of tea.
I can’t see an easy way to share to Twitter and other social sites and it’s slow to load – perhaps because of the mass exodus from Google Reader. I’ll need to come back to this reader later.
Bloglines Reader
Bloglines has been around forever (or so it seems!) and if you’re in the States has a great “local” service too that brings you news from sites and blogs around your city. The standard Bloglines Reader will pick up the news feed from blogs anywhere.
It’s free to sign up and you can import an xml feed. Lovely and functional with the option to be in widgets (pretty picture) or reader (a list) mode. Not sure how I can Tweet articles I like from here yet.
Feed Reader
Read all your feeds and listen to podcasts too. Feed Reader has a web based version or you can download a Windows client. Free to use, but I was unable to get past the capcha code to try it out. I don’t have the time to sit fighting with it.
Netvibes
A free reader with premium upgrade. The free version is quite restricted with not even a simple search, so not for me. Premium upgrade is out of my budget at $499 per month, but may be useful for some users with the analytics and curation features.
Taptu
Taptu allows import of Google Reader feeds, but once Reader disappears they won’t be available. As a reader it’s gone for the pretty picture look, personally I’d rather have a plain list. Adding feeds isn’t as simple as typing in the URL and auto-detecting the feed, and as yet I haven’t found how I can add custom streams not through Google Reader… One to watch though!
The Old Reader
Currently in beta and looks lovely – by that I mean no pretty pictures. There’s an option to import feeds, however the load at the moment meant I couldn’t see how easy that was. Log in with Facebook or Google, free to use.
Pulse
Another pretty picture style reader and really frustrating to add feeds individually. First, you need to search for the site then scroll until you find it in the results it produces. Not for me who has 100’s of feeds!
Keep Google Reader Running
If you will miss Google Reader, there’s a petition to keep Google Reader running over at Change.org Will Google listen? Somehow I doubt it!
You can also export your Google Reader data from http://www.dataliberation.org/google/reader
Over to you…
Will you miss Google Reader? What alternative will you use?
9 Google Reader Alternatives to Manage Your RSS Subscriptions by Jan Kearney
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I’m not sure what to use. Thanks for the alternatives out there. Now to find one and use it.
I’m sticking with feedly for the mo, Shawn. It seems the closest to Reader and no fancy stuff distracting me!
Thank you Jan again for an excellent blog and it is very informative. I never used google reader and now my curiosity is peaked about feedly and newsblur. I’m learning so much!
I’d be lost without my Reader, Debra! Have fun discovering Feedly and Newsblur 🙂
Don’t know what to do without Google reader either but thanks so much Jan for saving me the research time 🙂
Sue
I’m still moping around, Sue and it hasn’t even gone yet. I live in my Google Reader 🙁
Not tried this type of thing before, and certainly need to save time on blog commenting, so have added you to TheOldReader as a trial. Joy
Hmmm – yours worked perfectly on TheOldReader, but having difficulty getting others in…..Can you confirm, please, I just click the PLUS on Add Subscription and stick in my blog url followed by /feed (with or without a trailing slash….?) Thanks, Joy
Hi Joy, click add subscription then just type in the blog address then click plus and it should pick up the feed automatically if they have one 🙂
Thanks Jan. I’ll try again. Joy
I’m not much of an RSS junkie, so this doesn’t affect me. Though, when I did read RSS feeds, Google Reader was my brand of choice because well… it’s Google!
I have networked blogs now and rarely read the RSS feeds. I should really go over there and unsubscribe. Grr, no time! 🙂
Sorry to hear you’re favorite reader is leaving. That’s pretty many feeds…. 261 – I wouldn’t want to be you to subscribe to all of them again with a different reader, that’s for sure!
I never did get to grips with Networked Blogs, Bonnie and not every blog I read is registered there. I love Google Reader for it’s simplicity and have used it for years. I have forum feeds going through there too, not just blogs. Feedly is my replacement of choice so far, as everything *should* auto transfer with no work on my part!
I’m not sure it’s wise to trust Google Currents considering what they are doing to Reader. That said, I’m trying Feedly, Netvibes, and Newsblur as my alternates.
Hi Kristi, I don’t trust Google anything lol The option is there for people who want to use it, but it is restricted to blogs and feeds that have been submitted. Thanks for popping in and leaving your thoughts. I’m trying out Feedly and Newsblur too 🙂
Oh, do I ever feel your pain! I was crushed when I logged into gmail this morning and that pop-up of Reader death showed up. 🙁
I love my Google Reader. It made checking on my favorite blogs and websites easy to have everything in one place. I understand that it wasn’t for everyone, but it was my starting place for the day.
Now the search for a replacement begins. Thank you for the research you did for us.
Hi Marsha – yes I am still sulking, but life goes on and the web changes daily… For me, Feedly seems the obvious replacement for Reader so far, hopefully the final transfer does go automatically and smoothly too.
Thanks for popping in and good luck with your replacement quest!
Hi Jan,
I just imported all of my feeds into WordPress.com reader http://en.support.wordpress.com/reader/ is that URL, http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/google-reader/ is their article on how it all works. Not fast (it checks every feed first) but it works fine. #11 ?
GC
Great tip for those with a WP.com account. Thanks, Guy 🙂
I am so sad – I love Google Reader and I was not happy to see that pop up message! I am bookmarking your blog post for when I need to change but will hang in there till the end!!! Thanks for all the choices!
Habit – I’m still using Reader even though I am signed up on half a dozen others lol Feedly looks to be my next choice so far 🙂