Alternatives to Google Reader

As I mentioned in my last blogpost, I am really sorry to lose Google Reader. @fakelibstats tweeted: “75% of librarians are still stuck at the 2nd stage of grieving over the loss of Google Reader: anger.” Yup! I`m in that category..

Fortunately, some are better at getting over the loss and have started blogging and tweeting about good alternatives to Google Reader. Phil Bradley is one of them. I`ve had the pleasure to attend his “What Phil has found” session several times on Internet Librarian International so I`m not surprised that he has found alternatives:) Phil has blogged about 20 alternatives here and another 33 alternatives here. I`m going to look into it during the Easter Holidays. I hope (and believe) that at least one of the options will be a decent alternative. (Still angry at you, Google!)

RIP Google Reader

Illustration: colourbox.com

This morning, while reaching for my tea and trying to keep my eyes open, I opened my Google Reader as I do on most mornings. This rutine of starting the day with my news and blog updates have been part of my life for the last five or six years. I cannot believe it has not been longer, for I can`t remember how I discovered interesting journal articles, blog posts etc. before Google Reader (and Twitter). Therefore, I had a facepalm moment this morning when I read that Google is using the axe on its Reader, and that it will no longer be available after July 1st. Nooooooo! Now, of course I am aware that there are plenty of other readers out there and that there really is no reason to sulk, but I liked Google Reader! I liked that it was accesible with my Google account (very important!), and I liked the simple interface of it. And now I have to find another..*deep sigh*

Maybe it`s a sign that I`m getting old when I want applications that work to continue working, but to me it makes no sense to discontinue a service that is used and liked. If Google wanted to discontinue something, they could have a look at Google+ (only thing great about that is “Hangouts”).

Read more about Google Reader alternatives on Mashables: http://mashable.com/2013/03/13/google-kills-google-reader/

R.I.P. Google Reader.