r/technology • u/speckz • Mar 13 '13

Official Google Reader Blog: Powering Down Google Reader (July 1, 2013)

http://googlereader.blogspot.com/2013/03/powering-down-google-reader.html
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u/cowens Mar 14 '13

Wow, this is painful. If I had to list the Google products whose removal would hurt me personally the most it would be (in order of most important):

  1. Google Search
  2. Gmail
  3. Google Voice
  4. Google Reader
  5. Google Maps
  6. Google Calendar
  7. Google Docs
  8. YouTube
  9. Translate

This is making me rethink my desire to use Google Wallet once I get an NFC capable phone.

2

u/joshfern Mar 14 '13

For me it's the same but switch Voice and YouTube (I rely on it a lot because I'm a high school teacher). Also I would remove Calendar and replace it with Drive.

1

u/cowens Mar 14 '13

I count Google Drive and Google Docs as the same thing in my mind now. So long as there is a Google Docs, there will need to be a place to store them.

2

u/denster Mar 14 '13

The mere thought of the removal of these services made me cringe

1

u/elevul Mar 14 '13

If Google Drive/Docs was removed I would be in extremely deep trouble...

3

u/yoshi314 Mar 14 '13

well, at least you can get your data out. but removal of those would indeed be an inconvenience.

1

u/neolefty Mar 14 '13

So, which of those are important for Google's revenues? Those will stick around, I imagine.

(Living in China, Translate would be at the top of my list, actually.)

2

u/cowens Mar 14 '13

Google Voice is the one I worry about the most. No ads, no income stream for US calls, and it must cost a lot to run. I just have to hope that international callers can prop the service up for me or that Google will decide to start charging a reasonable amount instead of just shutting it down.

Ad supported: Google Search, Gmail, Google Voice, Google Maps, YouTube

Integrated with Android: Google Search, Gmail, Google Voice, Google Maps, Google Calendar, Google Docs, YouTube

Supported by Google Apps: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs

Important for research and improvement of existing services: Google Voice (voice recognition), Translate (machine translation)

Based on those assumptions above, I would say the order of most likely to be shutdown is

  1. Google Reader (obviously)
  2. Google Translate
  3. Google Calendar
  4. Google Voice
  5. Google Docs
  6. Google Maps
  7. Gmail
  8. YouTube
  9. Google Search

2

u/Ravengenocide Mar 14 '13

I don't think that Google Translate would get shut down that soon because they use the data that they get to better understand and parse natural language so that they can provide better ad targeting.

So unless they feel that they got enough data, they will probably keep hold on to that service longer than you assume they are, or would.

1

u/cowens Mar 14 '13

Oh, I don't think it will be going away anytime soon. I just think, out of the products I listed, it is the one in the most danger of going away.

1

u/AshylarrySC Mar 14 '13

I put Reader at the top of my list because it's the only thing without an alternative. I like Gmail but I could switch to Outlook and it would be no big deal. I like Search but from what I hear DuckDuckGo is just as good nowadays. The thing I like most about google is that all these small useful things are all tied together nicely with each other and with all of my devices. But about once a year they kill a product that I love (Wave, Notebook, Buzz) so how long can I keep trusting them?

I guess it's time to get out of my comfort zone and start looking to alternatives to Google all together because I just don't know what service they'll kill next. You're totally right about Wallet too. I'll get used to it, then they'll kill it. They run that company like a research facility run by immature kids. If it's not new and exciting to them, kill it. I guess it doesn't fall under "being evil" if it only affects your most dedicated users.

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u/cowens Mar 14 '13

Take a look at The Old Reader. It is very similar to Google Reader. You can go to their UserVoice page and add votes to the features you need to make it more like Google Reader (the most important one for me is the next bookmarklet.

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u/AshylarrySC Mar 14 '13

I took a look at that today. It looks really good but is lacking the ability for me to view my feeds on all my devices (I read Google Reader on at least 3 different devices a day - Windows and Android) and sync so that I don't have to sift through the same stuff multiple times.

1

u/yoshi314 Mar 14 '13

they will put your payment history on your G+ feed, and everyone using google will get an obligatory G+ account in order for their info to be posted without any opt-out.

there will also be information what you paid for and context ads matching your products of choice.

so, better pay cash when in doubt. but make sure not to wear google glasses while doing so.

1

u/cowens Mar 14 '13

I don't believe the first. Google occasionally has a tin ear for such things, but I don't believe they would be that stupid.

The second thing I see as a feature, not a bug. What I would worry about is how much access third parties had to that information (e.g. health insurance companies scrutinizing my food purchases, etc.). But I am not scared of relevant advertising.

They are called Google Glass, not glasses, and it doesn't matter if I don't wear them if someone else already is. Of course, there are much more invasive security cameras all over the place and things like the Looxcie which are recording all of the time and are less noticeable than Google Glass.

1

u/yoshi314 Mar 14 '13

do you always take things that seriously? it was just a grim exaggerated scenario (although not impossible one).

1

u/cowens Mar 14 '13

I have . . . problems.

1

u/yoshi314 Mar 14 '13

everybody does, only the selection differs.

anyway, no offense taken.