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Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

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Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#51

Post by mhb »

shrikant wrote: post #29
reader5000 wrote: post #12

G+ can't be google reader for two reasons: 1. Information density. Magazine style / tiles / graphics etc aren't the same as single line expandable headline with maybe 40 headlines visible per screen height. 2. Just the content. Reader didn't try to guess what you wanted to read or notify you what your friends were up to.

..and you know what? I like text. I 'circled' a bunch of people from the numerous Hacker News communities on G+, and I see far too many pictures and videos in the feed. And mostly personal life stuff, like their pets, or lunch, or some trees or whatever. (This is also my current complaint with App.net, but that's a different story). I really wish there were a way to filter by post type (text and links only) in Google…

It would also be nice to be able to filter out videos in Picasa. Why do I want to be seeing those mixed in with my photos?

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#52

Post by saraid216 »

zoowar wrote: post #26
jcomis wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's asking for specific elements of the reader that people found useful, enjoyable, easy to use. I'd say that's valuable. How is it not?

Why doesn't he just ask the google reader staff?

You're assuming there was a Google Reader staff.

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#53

Post by TillE »

bdz wrote: post #35

The cache. Opening up any feed and going back in years. And it works with broken sites too! Even if the content of the original site is gone, you can easily read it. Nothing can replace this feature... Does Newsblur or any other RSS reader have this?

Yes. This is the irreplaceable, unique value of Google Reader. Even if other services start archiving feed history now, only Google has the data from years ago.

And I'm not terribly optimistic about them releasing all the historical information they have in one huge download, which would be the appropriate way to preserve it.

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#55

Post by saraid216 »

Mahn wrote: post #33
njr123 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really true that the web app was getting no traffic? I know quite a few non-tech people that use it to follow blogs

"No traffic" is relative; I'd say it easily had somewhere around 50-100k users. This might seem like a lot, but it's sadly peanuts for Google.

Eh, depends on what you mean by "user", which in Googlespeak, is pretty ambiguous. I mean... I know I have stuff in Reader, but I never managed to use it seriously when I switched to it after Newshutch died. Do I count as a user? How many people are like me?

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#56

Post by Smudge »

scott_s wrote: post #40
nicksergeant wrote: post #6

Yeah, I really don't understand what he's looking for here. He wants constructive criticism about what parts of Google Reader were useful, but if you complain at all, your comment will be deleted. Google Reader itself was the useful piece. It aggregates RSS feeds. I don't really know how else you can explain that "yes, it aggregated RSS feeds, and I like to read all of my RSS feeds in one place".

I thought it was straight-forward: he wants to understand what it was about Reader that users liked, so he can work on incorporating them into Google+. Since he does not have the power to save Reader, he's telling people this is not the venue to complain about its shutdown.

I see both points here. My response would be similar to nicksergeant's. The parts of Google Reader I found useful were the parts where you could read RSS feeds. Will RSS be incorporated into Google+ somehow? I don't really understand what else he's getting at.

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#57

Post by dannyr »

jcampbell1 wrote: post #34

Google can be damn stupid sometimes. They shutdown Google Reader which is used daily by every journalist on the planet. This resulted in a ton of bad press which was completely foreseeable. Now they have some chieftain try to change the conversation into "Tell me what you loved about Reader", under the guise that they will use your comment to help make better products. As if Google has no data on how people use Googl…

Google never get feedback from users. They don't even beta test when they build products.

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#58

Post by rtwtlkj »

r00fus wrote: post #37
nicksergeant wrote: post #6

Yeah, I really don't understand what he's looking for here. He wants constructive criticism about what parts of Google Reader were useful, but if you complain at all, your comment will be deleted. Google Reader itself was the useful piece. It aggregates RSS feeds. I don't really know how else you can explain that "yes, it aggregated RSS feeds, and I like to read all of my RSS feeds in one place".

All I can gather from Google's recent moves is: "useful != profitable"... and Google's more interested in profit than utility now.

I have to say I'm kind of glad. I have some AI ideas that I think are going to be killer. Currently in the early development stage. If they are focusing more on profit probably they can get distracted enough to not see me coming.

Currently worried that they are beefing up their AI pursuits because of the recent AI hires which could mean I don't even have a chance. Lets se what happens.

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#59

Post by roc »

scott_s wrote: post #40
nicksergeant wrote: post #6

Yeah, I really don't understand what he's looking for here. He wants constructive criticism about what parts of Google Reader were useful, but if you complain at all, your comment will be deleted. Google Reader itself was the useful piece. It aggregates RSS feeds. I don't really know how else you can explain that "yes, it aggregated RSS feeds, and I like to read all of my RSS feeds in one place".

I thought it was straight-forward: he wants to understand what it was about Reader that users liked, so he can work on incorporating them into Google+. Since he does not have the power to save Reader, he's telling people this is not the venue to complain about its shutdown.

That's funny, I assumed it was a PR move to make Google appear responsive when they inevitably add an RSS-ish feature to syndicate news subscriptions into google+ feeds, as opposed to appearing like a malevolent plan to kill a beloved service to push more people into google+.

Hence it's counter-productive to mention the shutdown in negative terms, as that associates the two efforts in a way that underscores the latter interpretation.

Re: Chief Architect of Google+ requests clarification on Google Reader

#60

Post by roc »

scott_s wrote: post #38
jcampbell1 wrote: post #34

Google can be damn stupid sometimes. They shutdown Google Reader which is used daily by every journalist on the planet. This resulted in a ton of bad press which was completely foreseeable. Now they have some chieftain try to change the conversation into "Tell me what you loved about Reader", under the guise that they will use your comment to help make better products. As if Google has no data on how people use Googl…

You assume that these actions were coordinated, and that all individuals in Google know about, and act on, a single vision.

His assumption only requires the group that's replacing Google Reader to have been aware of and involved in the effort to replace Google Reader.

Which seems pretty reasonable.

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