Goodbye, Google Reader
Obviously we shouldn't trust the official reasons Google offered for killing Google Reader. The demise of Reader is a massive statement on how Google believes the internet *should not be read*: that is, as a [1] private, unmediated experience (as opposed to a "social" reading experience, say facebook, twitter or Plus) and [2] with an open standard (RSS) serving as a direct link between reader and content producer. As put by Aldo Cortesi: "The truth is this: Google destroyed the RSS feed reader ecosystem with a subsidized product, stifling its competitors and killing innovation. It then neglected Google Reader itself for years, after it had effectively become the only player. Today it does further damage by buggering up the already beleaguered links between publishers and readers. It would have been better for the Internet if Reader had never been at all." Hello, Old Reader |
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3 comments so far...
"We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience."
I think this is corporate double-talk for 'we were not making any money from our users'.
Something I posted a year or so ago:
http://forum.meetthegimp.org/index.php/topic,1329.0.html
After all of this, I try to avoid Google as much as possible.