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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Farewell Google Reader...now what??

I am in complete and total panic.

For years now, I wake up with my first cup of coffee, pop onto Google Reader and scroll through all of your wonderful creations.  Google Reader does all of the work of finding all of the new posts on the hundreds of blogs that I love.  I read all the new posts, comment, add to folders, etc.

But last night, Google announced that Google Reader will be no more as of July 1st.

I'm sure there are many, many alternatives out there - maybe even better - but I don't what they are.

What do you all do to read your blogs???

I don't want emails.  I don't want to go into all of my favorite blogs just to see if you have posted.

And most importantly - I would really like to do this on my iPad.

What do you all do???

{I'm going to go get a second cup of coffee now and try not to think about this}

28 comments:

  1. This is exactly how I felt when I read this. Anxious to see what people have to say.

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  2. Yes, I feel the same way!! There is a petition to keep it, but if that doesn't work maybe I'll check out Feedly when it's launched!?!?

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  3. Seriously? I didn't see this!! Maybe this will be my answer to spending less time on the computer, though. Hmmmmm.... Guess I'm going to have to start making a list of "must visit" blogs, so i don't lose anything. Sigh!

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  4. I am looking at Feedly this morning and it is crashing under the weight of the Google Reader panic. No one is able to migrate their feeds over and I can't even get it to find a single blog. It worries me about their abilities. I did see a couple of petitions. Check out this write-up: http://mashable.com/2013/03/13/save-google-reader/

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  5. I was a little stressed over the sheer volume of blogs that I read, but apparently Google does have something called Takeout that allows you to export your data. But eventually I need a place to put it. https://www.google.com/takeout/

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  6. I signed up for Feedly last night but their service is slow at the moment due to all the new members. They're working on that. I'm actually liking the functionality. Here's the article that I found recommending a few alternatives:

    http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-57574201-233/google-reader-is-dying-but-we-have-five-worthy-alternatives/

    The other one I tried but I found quite cumbersome was NetVibes which was mentioned in this article. It was easy to export the Google Reader files to it but I found it very complicated when trying it late at night.

    http://lifehacker.com/5990456/google-reader-is-getting-shut-down-here-are-the-best-alternatives

    I hope this helps :-)

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  7. Try Bloglovin' you can get emails,but you can also sign in and look at all of your blogs too.

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  8. I just watched a hysterical YouTube video with Hitler ranting about the demise of Google Reader. He says "Google Reader is more than just a daily habit - it's an extension of myself!" SO true!! I'm not going to link it because it's quite a rant and might be offensive but you could easily find it with "Hitler Google Reader". It was the laugh I needed today!

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  9. This is getting too funny - here's a White House petition!! https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/tell-google-not-discontinue-google-reader/ChtzMkLf

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  10. I know, I know. I should just wait and let the dust settle, but I'm still looking.

    Kara mentioned Feedly and it actually looks like a very good option. It's hard to test right now because they have cratered under the weight of panicked people like me. Their blog seems to say they will have it under control.

    1. They have multiple platforms which I love because I read on my iPad and on my PC. They have Android too.

    2. You can get it now, sync with Google Reader to get your stuff there and they guarantee that when Reader closes, Feedly will still have your stuff.

    3. They have lots of views - some very visual, some just lists - so you can make it look like Google Reader or more like a magazine.

    4. Their blog post on 3/14 shows a comparison. http://blog.feedly.com/

    I will be watching and as soon as I can get on, I'll write something up!!

    FYI: another commenter mentioned bloglovin'. It is a very attractive app but so far only on iPhone.

    And an apology: to my reader that I just turned in the Google Reader using Feeddler Pro on the iPad...I am so sorry!!

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  11. I saw that little message pop up yesterday too, but I thought I would wait to see what else appears to take its place! I've already gotten some options just reading the comments here!!!!

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  12. I am always so short of time these days so I tend to just look at my comments and go to people's blogs from there to return a comment.If I have more time I go to my fav friends blogs(yours is one!!). I check the LIM blog too and that gives me yet more people to visit.Where does all the time go???? I wish I knew, not really any help that though... sorry lol :) Viv xx

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  13. I spoke to my boss and he suggested newsblur.com or pulse.me but he said pulse.me looks a lot different. Something to investigate anyway.

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  14. What?! I guess I haven't been paying attention, I didn't see this. Guess I need to start looking around. Sounds like there are some good options out there. Thanks for posting this!

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  15. OK I did not see the article but I log into Blogger and go to the Dashboard to see all the blogs I follow and all the updates. I just have a lot of trouble seeing updates on my Blackberry but on the computer it is all there. Let me know if you hvae trouble finding it.

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  16. Yes - you could read from Blogger. I am fairly certain that you can add non-Blogger (non-followed) blogs too. Anybody know for sure? But it is limited - no categories, no tags, no ability to mark to read later. I'm used to all of those little luxuries!!

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  17. Glad you posted this, I had a minor panic attack last night, posted about it quickly on Facebook and then went to bed! Will keep checking back, seems you're getting good suggestions and I don't want to invest time in my own research just yet!

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  18. Another panic attack victim here as well. I follow a ton of blogs....so love sitting down to my Google Reader and viewing new posts. Not sure what I am going to do without it!

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  19. I just use the reading list in Blogger Dashboard and yes you can add blogs which don't have the 'follow' button. I've never used Google reader so I guess for me it's a case of 'what you've never had you don't miss!' Sorry couldn't be more help! Xx

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  20. I was SHOCKED to see that they are retiring Google Reader! I checked out some alternatives and so far I like Feedly. Here is a website that has a list of other readers.

    http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/03/14/looking-for-a-google-reader-replacement-list-of-google-reader-alternatives/

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  21. I use Wordpress for my blog, which has a reader function that I use to pick up all the new posts from everyone I'm following. I hope there's a solution out there for you, but if all else does fail, maybe you could consider swapping from blogspot to wordpress (every last stone would have to have been turned to merit the work involved though I think). Good luck ... Anita :)

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  22. I was shocked to learn about the Google Reader too! I use the app Feedler Pro to read my blogs on my iPad and I love it!!! I'm not sure if it's related to the Google Reader, though. I'm so confused! I know I can view all blog types, not just google blogs. I hope Feedler Pro won't be affected. Does anyone know?

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  23. I use Feedler Pro too - I also love it. Right now, it is 100% based on Google Reader. It's just a nice front end. As it stands, Feedler Pro will not work without Google Reader. I am going to keep using it for now and keep an eye on updates etc to see if they have plans to and are able to make it stand alone. But from what I have been reading, that's a huge deal.

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  24. This is the first I've heard of Google Reader, so I guess being out of fhe loop has its advantages when it comes to an end! I've been following my favorite blogs, including yours, by email. I sit with my morning coffee and iPad and go through the day's posts. I have folders set up for the ones I want to save for future reference and discard the rest as I go along. When I need some fresh ideas, I go through my folders, cleaning out older posts on a regular basis. I plan to save individual cards on Pinterest when I figure out how to use it!

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  25. Kim, I'm having a meltdown over this issue! I don't have the time to use Blogger as my reader (you can't see the whole post, you need to click into each post to see what is there). Also Blogger doesn't always allow blogs to be added to your list (not sure what it doesn't like, but some blogs I cannot add). I need a reader that, like Google Reader, I can scroll through all my blogs and see them without further clicks. I'll go check out Feedly, maybe that will be a solution for me. Fingers crossed.

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  26. Hi Kim. Just wanted to add my two cents on the demise of Google Reader. I just switched to Bloglovin' and really like it so far. It took two minutes to switch everything over, but what sold me on it was that I can actually view each blog post as it looks on that blog without clicking to open a separate window, plus the blogger gets page views for my visits (as opposed to in Google Reader and most others, where scrolling through on your Reader alone does not count as a page view). You can also make comments directly from the Reader, so maybe I'll do it more often? I just downloaded the app for my iPhone and it looks beautiful, but I don't know anything about iPads. :(

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  27. I stumbled across Reader about 6 months ago. I had no idea such a thing existed and now they are taking at away :(
    I just use a laptop so a number of the alternatives won't work for me. I did sign the petition so I will wait and see....

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  28. Hi Kim, I am very computer illiterate and it took me ages to realize there was even such a thing as a 'reader' lol. But when I finally did jump in I started using Bloglines, so I don't know anything different but it seems to work well for me (although I'm not on an ipad or iphone... now that would be way too complicated haha).

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