RIP Google Reader • Hacker News Board

Re: RIP Google Reader

#101

Post by ecliptik » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

conesus wrote: post #35

It was in the summer of 2008, three years after Google launched Reader and had at least 5 million users, when I decided to write my own RSS reader. There were just so many features I wanted that I knew Google would never build and for some strange reason I thought I could make money with my own opinionated take on a news reader. Then at 4pm on March 13th, 2013, I got an email from Nilay at The Verge asking if I'd hea…

Thank you for Newsblur, it's one of my essential apps and I use it for almost everything; RSS feeds, reddit, youtube, twitter, newsletters, even gemini:// via proxy.

It's a solid product, and the amount of work you've put into it shows and I plan to remain a customer for years to come.

Re: RIP Google Reader

#102

Post by kawfey » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

kepano wrote: post #85

A few folks here are asking why old timers still mourn Google Reader when there are so many good alternatives available now. I agree, there are. It even opened the door for many more tools in the space. I love using Feedly, Reeder, and NetNewsWire. But to me the sadness comes from seeing the open web continue to fray. At the time Google felt like an important part of the open web, and RSS was part of the glue that he…

Why are you using 3 different readers?

Re: RIP Google Reader

#103

Post by basch » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

perryizgr8 wrote: post #83

basch wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unpopular retrospective opinion, but given how stagnant Reader was before its death, the boon of Reader Replacements to arrive on the scene after its demise was worth its disappearance. The race to be the replacement made a metric ton of competing products better.

> how stagnant Reader was before its death That's a feature, not a bug. It was close to perfect, no pointless UI re-designs required. Fast, lightweight, no bs.

Yes and no. By being the de facto standard and housing most of the people, it somewhat stifled innovation in the space. Sure there were a ton of front ends built over the top of it, and the space was vibrant, but it really shined after they were forced into the spotlight. It was like turning on a flashlight and spiders scattering everywhere. The scatter breathed new sustaining life into many many projects.

Re: RIP Google Reader

#104

Post by aasasd » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:25 PM UTC

So basically, one can begin slapping together a competitor as soon as Google rolls out a service—because the service is likely to go the way of the Reader in a few years.

Re: RIP Google Reader

#105

Post by perryizgr8 » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:26 PM UTC

draw_down wrote: post #23

For me, when I see old screenshots like this, it makes me realize how festooned with garbage UIs used to be. Just sooo much unnecessary shit. Everywhere. I also don't love the state we're in today, when useful things are hidden or just removed altogether. But man, I can appreciate how we got here.

> festooned with garbage UI

Huh?! Can you point out a single UI element in that screenshot that doesn't serve a useful purpose?

Reader's UI was basically perfect. I believe that's what proved to be the end of it at Google. There was no more changes to be made to it. So Google had to shut it down, because they absolutely have to be doing new stuff.

Re: RIP Google Reader

#106

Post by mvaliente2001 » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:26 PM UTC

EamonnMR wrote: post #75

basch wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unpopular retrospective opinion, but given how stagnant Reader was before its death, the boon of Reader Replacements to arrive on the scene after its demise was worth its disappearance. The race to be the replacement made a metric ton of competing products better.

Which ones are your favorites?

https://theoldreader.com/

Re: RIP Google Reader

#107

Post by andyjohnson0 » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:27 PM UTC

yreg wrote: post #68

cletus wrote: post #11

Whatever was said at the time, I’m convinced Google Reader was collateral damage from the Bay of Pigs Google Plus effort. It had social features (which I honestly never used) and anything social had to be G+. Still, I honestly don’t understand why this is the hill people want to die on, what they feel most betrayed about. Like I haven’t seen some people this upset since Firefly was canceled.

I too don't get this. I also used Google Reader back then. When iPhone was novel and WiFi spots were rare, so people had to preload a part of the web to get through the day. When they killed it I switched to NetNewsWire and didn't miss the previous product. What was so special about Google Reader?

> What was so special about Google Reader?

It was free and web-based.

Re: RIP Google Reader

#108

Post by fbnlsr » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:27 PM UTC

sdfjkl wrote: post #72

Will you stop crying about Google Reader already and move on please. RSS is alive and well if you want it to be. I've switched to theoldreader.com when Google pulled the plug, imported my feeds and have been there ever since. I'm subscribed to 125 feeds, 72% of which had new posts in the last year (following super low volume things is one of the many advantages of RSS). Most of the inactive ones have simply atrophied…

I quickly glanced at theoldreader.com front page, and it looks nice. I tried setting up a new account and it immediately proposed to try out 14 days free "premium".

Not only do you have to click on a tiny link to discover what the premium brings, but there is no information on how much the premium plan costs. That's a really bad UX.

Re: RIP Google Reader

#109

Post by conesus » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:28 PM UTC

ecliptik wrote: post #101

conesus wrote: post #35

It was in the summer of 2008, three years after Google launched Reader and had at least 5 million users, when I decided to write my own RSS reader. There were just so many features I wanted that I knew Google would never build and for some strange reason I thought I could make money with my own opinionated take on a news reader. Then at 4pm on March 13th, 2013, I got an email from Nilay at The Verge asking if I'd hea…

Thank you for Newsblur, it's one of my essential apps and I use it for almost everything; RSS feeds, reddit, youtube, twitter, newsletters, even gemini:// via proxy. It's a solid product, and the amount of work you've put into it shows and I plan to remain a customer for years to come.

Then you'll be excited to see the upcoming redesign that I have yet to publicly launch (but want a few users on to test the waters early): https://beta.newsblur.com

Re: RIP Google Reader

#110

Post by guyzero » Thu, Mar 25, 2021, 4:28 PM UTC

dbrereton wrote: post #58

As someone who was born too late for Google Reader, I genuinely don't understand why people bring it up every 5 minutes. There are 1000 feed reader apps that exist right now, some of which have the branding of "it's just like Google Reader", so what am I missing here?

it's nostalgia for lost youth, same as nostalgia for anything. it's meaningless sentimentality.