Google Reader is Shutting Down in July 2013 but Petition to Keep it Exists

[dgstorm]

If you are one of the users of Google Reader, your probably caught wind of the news late yesterday that Google will be shelving the product in July of this year. Google announced it as part of a second "spring cleaning." If you hadn't hear it yet, now is your notice. What may also be of interest to you is that a petition exists to try and coerce Google into keeping it going. It already has almost 50,000 signatures.

Here's a statement from Google about the service shutting down,

"We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined," Google explained. "So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months."

The petition to keep the service was started by Dan Lewis, and here is a quote with his impassioned plea,

Dear Google:

A few years ago -- years, wow -- Google Reader was one of my go-to social networks. It was an accidental one. I was using it for its intended purpose -- aggregating and reading a lot of web content in one place -- but it turns out, a lot of other people were doing the same thing. A lot. Many of which shared interests and when you added the amazing (amazing!) share and comment features, Google Reader blossomed into a wonderful experience for many of us, core to our day-to-day consumption of content online.

Unfortunately, you decided to kill those "extra" functions. I'm not here to ask you to reverse that (you should, though). In doing so, Google Reader's day-to-day value declined, and I, like many, ended up using it less often. Instead of hitting the bookmarklet I have on my Chrome install three, four times a day, it's now a once a day (okay, once every other day more often, recently) experience.

But it's still a core part of my Internet use. And of the many, many others who are signed below.

Our confidence in Google's other products -- Gmail, YouTube, and yes, even Plus -- requires that we trust you in respecting how and why we use your other products. This isn't just about our data in Reader. This is about us using your product because we love it, because it makes our lives better, and because we trust you not to nuke it.

Oh.

So, please don't destroy that trust. You're a huge corporation, with a market cap which rivals the GDP of nations. You're able to dedicate 20% of your time to products which may never seen the light of day. You experiment in self-driving cars and really cool eyewear which we trust (trust!) you'll use in a manner respectful to our needs, interests, etc.

Show us you care.

Don't kill Google Reader.

Here's a link to the Petition if you would like to see it saved: https://www.change.org/petitions/google-keep-google-reader-running

One last interesting tidbit to note is a theory rolling around the web that the service will actually be resurrected in some capacity but will likely be integrated within Google+ in some way. ~ Ars Technica

There is definite logic to this argument as Google has been working hard to organize and consolidate their products and services around a cohesive ecosystem. Of course, that doesn't mean a separate version can't also exist, so feel free to add your signature to the petition if you want to see it live.

Thanks for the tip, grenefroggie!

 

[xeene]

Signed!

 

[kodiak799]

I was just about to start cranking this thing up with Pure's News reader. I've struggled to find good RSS widgets - either the widget stinks or the feed options/update are lacking. Back to the drawing board.

 

[debdroid1a]

I signed too. I found this discussion searching for an alternative, but I like this. I read it on Flipboard and it works great on there.

 

[rherron]

Plenty of clones already. Check out theoldreadsr. Digg, I believe, is making a clone. There are others.

 

[kodiak799]

Plenty of clones already. Check out theoldreadsr. Digg, I believe, is making a clone. There are others.

Which may (if the developer re-programs) or may not work for people that use widgets that rely on Google Reader.