Google Reader is often held up as one of the prime examples of Google killing a product that users love and consider to be good. It died on July 1, 2013, and 10 years later, a new report goes in-depth on why that happened.
Expand Expanding Close
Google has a reputation for killing off its products. So much so, that there are multiple websites dedicated to tracking the company’s murders. At one of its campuses, Google made an actual product graveyard to decorate for Halloween.
Update: It appears Feedly has resolved the issue.
Wave #2 of the DDoS attacks has been neutralized and the service is accessible again. See http://t.co/KZ5MUzIknl for more information.
— Feedly (@feedly) June 12, 2014
Yesterday, Feedly experienced some downtime due to criminals executing a DDoS attack on the service. The service slowly crawled back to being almost usable overnight last night, but apparently, the service is experiencing yet another attack this morning.
7:26am PST: We are currently being targeted by a second DDoS attack and are working with our service providers to mitigate the issue.
As with yesterday’s attack, your data is safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and will update this blog post as more information is available or the situation changes.
As of right now, the Feedly front page and blog are loading just fine, but clicking the “Login” button is showing a “Sorry! feedly will be back soon.” message. Notably, many people went flocking to Feedly following the shutdown of Google Reader, so it goes without saying that many are without a very critical part of their workflow as we wait for the service to come back online.
Update: That was fast. Feedly has officially backpedaled on its decision to switch to Google+ sign-in after feedback from users:
[Update: the fact that this changing is forcing users to create a Google+ profile and that Google+ is not available in some companies and on some Google Apps domains outweighs the benefit of being about to login more seamlessly across devices. So we are going to rollback this change later this afternoon – Friday 1:00pm PST. We will try to make it optional in the future for some users who like Google+. Thanks for the feedback].
Feedly, our runaway favorite and the most popular Google Reader replacement is adding Google+ authentication to the service. A new post on Feedly’s blog indicates that as Google transitions from OAuth sign-in to Google+ so too will Feedly.
We are following on Google’s lead and transitioning feedly from Google OAuth to Google+ login. You will see this transition surface on cloud.feedly.com this week and on Android and iOS later this month.
The company teases that the introduction of Google+ authentication will “open the door to some interesting sharing features we have been working on.” That’s not to say Feedly is ignoring alternative log-in sources as well as the same post indicates they are also working on adding Twitter, Facebook and WordPress login options.
Are you starting to you use Google+ sign-in around the web?
Expand
Expanding
Close
Following a report back in July showing that Google+ gets only 2 percent of social sharing, new figures from Shareaholic (via Marketing Land) reveal that the service drives an average of 0.06 percent of all referral traffic. This contrasts with Facebook at 8.11 percent, Pinterest at 3.24 and Twitter at a surprisingly low 1.17.
Google+ traffic is also growing at a far slower rate than other social media.
Shareaholic also says that Google+ is growing the slowest as a referral source at just 6.97 percent over the past year. Referrals from Facebook (58.81 percent), Pinterest (66.52 percent), Twitter (54.12 percent) and YouTube (52.86 percent) all grew more than 50 percent since September 2012.
Viewed against a backdrop of Google’s aggressive promotion of the service, making it virtually impossible not to have a G+ account by linking it to every product the company has, it does make me question whether Google+ has a long-term future …
Expand
Expanding
Close
When Google killed its RSS app Google Reader, it appeared to have taken a dislike to the whole concept of RSS feeds, removing them from its Google Alerts service – saved searches whose results are automatically sent to you. With the RSS option gone, the only option remaining was to have alerts emailed instead. Now, with no announcement, the RSS feed option has returned.
Google’s explanation at the time didn’t make much sense to me. It seemed to effectively be arguing that RSS was an out-dated delivery system, but its replacement was … email? No matter, it’s back now. Simply sign into Google Alerts and select Feed from the delivery pull-down.
Via TNW
It’s no secret that Google has a tendency to buy a lot of companies and it is now getting a reputation for shutting a lot of products down. In fact, we’re just a few days away from its biggest closure to date in Google Reader. iGoogle, the customizable Google homepage, is also set to shut down this November. Earlier this year, the company closed up Google Talk and replaced it with Hangouts. Google has always said, however, that it “celebrates its failures,” and there have sure been a lot of them. Marketing company WordStream has put together an infographic breaking down all the services Google has closed up, including the dates they were shut down…then be sure to check the new companies Google has been buying up below…
Expand
Expanding
Close
After launching a private beta of its new Google Reader replacement, Digg announced today that it is now rolling out the beta to all users signed up to test the new app. Digg just sent out the first batch of invites to the new web app, but promises it will be “adding users in increasingly larger batches.”
The app is still a work in progress and won’t get you every feature you might have had with Google Reader, but for now you can easily import your Google Reader content, use Google Reader-like shortcuts, and save and share to all the usual third-party services.
iOS versions of Digg Reader land for iPhone and iPad in the App Store sometime today, and Digg says an Android app will be available before the end of July.
Digg warns that the app is still very much in beta, but reminds us of a few features it plans to add in the coming months:
Expand
Expanding
Close
Following Google’s announcement that its RSS Reader product would be retired on July 1st, apps like Feedly that relied on the Google Reader backend announced big plans to help itself and other apps through the transition. Feedly has been preparing its move to its own “feedly cloud” back end since the announcement, and earlier this month transitioned its own iOS client to the platform. Today, Feedly is officially launching the new back end and API, as well as a brand new web interface and the first apps to integrate the feedly cloud platform:
As of today, feedly cloud is now live, providing a fast and scalable infrastructure that serves as the backbone to feedly, as well as a number of connected applications. Feedly cloud is open today to all users visiting http://feedly.com, providing a simple one-click migration path from Google Reader. And thanks to the great developer community that has gathered around it, providing multiple safe and sound alternatives to Google Reader. With the release of feedly cloud, feedly today transitions from a product to a platform. We are also today delivering a new, completely stand-alone Web version of feedly.
On top of the new API and feedly cloud back end, the company is also delivering on one of the most requested features for the service: a standalone new web interface that doesn’t require any plugins or browser extensions.
Expand
Expanding
Close
When Google announced it was shutting down Reader, struggling web company Digg announced that they would develop a replacement service. In a blog post on Monday, the company announced that its much-awaited RSS service would open to the public on June 26th.
The service, which will be called Digg Reader, will have very basic functions, including a feature that allows users to vote stories to the top that they believe are important. When the company surveyed more than 18,000 users, many wanted the service to be clean, simple, and fast. Digg, of course, says it has met all of those demands.
Within 60 days of the launch, many features will continue to be released, including:
Expand
Expanding
Close
Update: Facebook has just sent out an invite to an event it is holding on June 20th. While the it doesn’t offer many hints as to what the company has up its sleeve, TechCrunch says again that it is sure it’s a news reader of some sort.
The day that many have been dreading is quickly approaching. On July 1st, Google Reader will officially close its doors, but according to some code discovered, Facebook might be working on a replacement (via TechCrunch). A developer has noticed several mentions of RSS feeds in Facebook’s code, which he says are exactly what would be needed to start a Google Reader alternative. The service would supposedly be tied to your Facebook ID, which would make it accessible to the more than 1 billion people already on the social network. It’s unclear, however, if users would be able to add feeds to the service or if it would simply be content from Facebook.
With just over three weeks until Google officially puts its RSS service Google Reader out to pasture, the Mountain View company has decided to offer the widely respected product a few commemorative last words as it rests on its death bed.
Google News and Social Products Senior Director Richard Gringras told Wired.com that Google Reader represented an old model of news consumption in an age where news is being constantly consumed throughout the day.
“As a culture we have moved into a realm where the consumption of news is a near-constant process,” says Richard Gringras, Senior Director, News & Social Products at Google. “Users with smartphones and tablets are consuming news in bits and bites throughout the course of the day — replacing the old standard behaviors of news consumption over breakfast along with a leisurely read at the end of the day.”
No matter the reason for Google Reader’s demise, alternatives have made a timely bubble up to the surface leading up to Google’s July 1 deadline. Apps like Reeder that relied on Google Reader for backend syncing have since opened up support for alternatives like Feedly and Feed Wrangler (which we reviewed at launch).
Expand
Expanding
Close
Yet another Google service bites the dust. This one’s not as cut and dry as Google Reader, for instance, because some of the Google Checkout functionality will transfer to Google Wallet.
Merchants can continue to accept payments using Google Checkout until November 20, 2013.
If you don’t have your own payment processing, you will need to transition to a different solution within six months. To make things easier, we’ve partnered with Braintree, Shopify and Freshbooks to offer you discounted migration options.
If you are a U.S. merchant that does have payment processing, you can apply for Google Wallet Instant Buy, which offers a fast buying experience to Google Wallet shoppers.
At some point, Google’s brand is going to get tarnished by these closures. How am I going to feel comfortable getting behind a new Google product if I know there’s a more than 50% chance it will close?
Expand
Expanding
Close
With the recent changes to the design of Google Reader, some of you may be delighted to hear about a new plugin called Reeder for Chrome. Reeder for Chrome uses inspiration from the Reader Mac and iOS apps (not the same developer) to give Google Reader a nice, new, slick look.
The plugin is almost exactly like the Reader apps. It has an All Items tab, Starred Items tab, and a section showing all of your groups. When you click a story you’re brought to how much of the content the source provides, and then you can click the link to open a new tab. Of course you can also add feeds. Sadly, it doesn’t load the story inside of the Reader window like Reeder for Mac does. Download here.
Kevin Fox, a former lead designer for Google Reader, has made an offer to Google on his blog. Kevin offers that he will sign a three month contract to come back to Google to help restore the Reader product after this week’s changes — which he isn’t a fan of by any means. In fact, most people aren’t happy with Google getting rid of old social features to implement Google+.
Kevin says that he will keep with the design changes that Google is making across all products, but will restore and enhance Google Reader to the product it should be. Here’s to the best Kevin.
Google announced on their blog last week that they’d be redesigning Google Reader, and today the redesign has hit the interwebs. The redesign takes shape like almost every other Google product in terms of color, shapes, and speed.
Google Reader now also features Google+ functionality built in, after turning off friending and following in Reader. Users will be able to +1 a post and then from there have the ability to share it with their Google+ friends. Check it out after the break.
The redesign will begin rolling out to users in the coming days, so hold tight if you’re not yet seeing it. For me, the new redesign is welcomed, because I thought the last one was just plain bleh. Having the new look around Google is giving the company a cutting edge feel.
Google just announced on their Reader blog this afternoon, that Google Reader will be receiving an updated redesign to match many other products next week. When it comes to social features that Reader already has, Google will be removing friending, following, and shared links and implementing Google+ features instead.
The new redesign will most likely look like the redesign we’ve already seen across Mail, Docs, Maps, and more. Personally, I welcome the new theme, because currently I don’t think Reader looks good. I also like Google’s efforts to make their products look better.
A new Chrome Extension called GTools+ allows you to customize Google+ to your liking. The extension features many customizations — like moving Chat to the Google Bar, adding an unread counter for Gmail and Reader, language translation for posts from your foreign friends, and the ability to keep the Google Bar at the top of the page when you scroll down. GTools+ is available on the Chrome Web Store. All of GTools+’s features:
- Unified Google bar, your personalized menu is possible on all Google services! - Stick the Google+ bar always on top when you scrolling - Prevent open in new tab or window when you click on link inside the Google+ bar - Change the position of the chat for put in the Google+ Bar - Change the color of the notification bubble in the Google+ bar - Right click on the extension icon for go to the options page fastest - Add a translation link in the context menu (auto detect the post language) - Add notification for Gmail and Reader in the Google Bar. - Edit the color of any notification bubble.