Google Reader is shutting down and the Internet is angry about it

Google has announced that, from 1st July 2013, Google Reader will be no more.

The announcement was made on Google’s official blog, halfway down a post about “spring cleaning” changes that are being made over the coming months. Google’s reasoning behind its closure of the RSS reader, which has been running since 2005: usage has declined.

The blog does concede that Google Reader still enjoys “a loyal following”, and many of its users took to Twitter last night and this morning to express surprise and dismay at the service’s imminent demise – and the feeling that, while there are alternative RSS readers available, there’s nothing else capable of replicating its functionality.

There was also anger, with some suggesting that Google’s decision to drop it is part of a strategy to steer more users towards its ailing Google+ social network. And the fear that the death of Reader could be just the tip of the iceberg, with other Google services getting canned in the near future.

And of course, someone made a Downfall parody in which Hitler reacts to the news. It’s quite good at summing up the general mood of users, and actually quite sad:

If you’re a disappointed Google Reader user, you may want to look at Feedly and The Old Reader, which are two fairly similar services.

[via Google blog]

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