Google shutting down Google Reader on July 1

Google shutting down Google Reader on July 1

Google, via its official blog post, has just confirmed that come July 1 they will be discontinuing the Google Reader. The much loved RSS reader from the search giant will cease to exist post July 1, much to the dismay of the many users of the reader.

“We launched Google Reader in 2005, in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favourite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years, usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader,” Urs Hölzle, Google’s Senior Vice President of Technological Infrastructure, wrote in a blog post.

Google has announced that before the service bids its last goodbye in July, users and developers who are interested in RSS alternatives can export their data including subscriptions using Google Takout over the course of the next four months.

Google Reader

Google Reader allowed users to keep a tab on content from their favourite blogs and news websites in one place, which made it look almost like an inbox. The service was a hit with compulsive news junkies who used the service dedicatedly.

Some of the other services are also going down after the company completes its spring cleaning services. Among other services to get the axe in Google’s spring cleaning activity include GUI builder, which is being ditched for a focus on HTML service; Google Cloud Connect, which will be put to rest in favour of Google Drive and Google Voice App for BlackBerry, which will be axed even though users will have access to the browser based HTML5 app. Snapseed desktop for Windows and Mac is also being shown the door.

The spring cleaning exercise has been a Google habit since 2011 when CEO Larry Page first pulled the plug on Google+ predecessor, Google Buzz and Labs. Buzz was launched as a competition to Twitter initially in 2010. While Google put in a lot of effort to make Buzz attractive to users, things did not go as planned for the company, forcing it to shift its focus to Google+.