Why we should thank Google for closing Google Reader

Google Reader. Many have no idea that such thing exists. Actually, many have no idea that Google actually runs something else than a search engine. Ok, and maybe Gmail.

I love Google Reader. I had used other RSS feeds before finding it, but honestly – I never really used them. Then came Google Reader. Not only I could have followed my favorite blogs and websites. I could have also followed some of my friends – other Google Reader heavy users – and seeing what they shared with their Reader followers. But since incorporating Google Plus, this functionality is gone.

Twitter made it easier for me to discover content but sometimes 140 characters are just not enough. So I still do miss this original functionality of the Reader. And maybe that´s one of the reasons why I started using it less.

Google announced on its blog that the Reader will be shut down. And I am thankful. It will push me into finding an alternative and actually start using an RSS feed more heavily again. You might sign one of the petitions against the Google Reader shutdown. Or rather start looking for an alternative if you haven´t found one already. Feedly, The Old Reader as well as Netvibes look good to me. But I´ll wait a little before deciding. I know that there are tons of startups that will use the “Reader-shutdown-hype” and will come up with the kind of freshness that I felt when I first started using Google Reader. Or maybe Digg will have an answer for me?

By the way, this open source list.ly list might be able to help you out.