Google has announced the retirement of Google Reader, in the latest service closure as part of the company’s “spring cleaning” push.
Despite what Google refers to as a “loyal following”, the company concedes usage has been declining significantly over the recent years. The retirement of the service is effective as of July 1.
Google Reader – which was launched in 2005 – is an RSS feed aggregator which assists users in keeping track of developments on their favourite websites.
The internet giant advises users that all data can be exported to an alternative RSS service within the next four months, using Google Takeout.
However, many Google Reader users are not satisfied with the option of an alternative service, and a group of faithful users have even started a petition on http://www.change.org – which already has 27,900 supporters – asking Google not to retire Reader.
Users have also taken to Twitter to complain about the announcement, with Google Reader trending on the microblogging site and many tweeters asking why Google needs to remove the service.
Like a Dagger to Bloggers’ Hearts, Google Just Killed Google Reader bit.ly/Zp8TkX Why?? Loved Google Reader!
— Aki Anastasiou (@AkiAnastasiou) March 14, 2013
Shutdown of Google Reader because of a “lack of consumer appeal”? No way. The simple reason: RSS can’t be controlled and monetized easily.
— Jan Ole Suhr (@janole) March 14, 2013
Google Reader is the cornerstone of my daily workflow (seriously). This is a big problem.
— Eric Shepherd (@sheppy) March 14, 2013
