14 DAY TRIAL // Google Reader is gone and, despite the initial outcry, the transition has been rather smooth. It helped that there were actual alternatives to the Google site, alternatives which didn't exist or were severely lacking a few months ago.
But that's not to say Google is getting away with it. If it wasn't clear by now, Reader's shutdown makes it obvious to all Googlers that there's no place for small projects at the company.
While the search giant would argue that this means the company is focusing on moonshot ideas and that its employees should be thinking bigger, for many it's a sign that, if they have an idea for a project, Google is not the place to realize it.
It didn't use to be like that. Famously, some of its biggest products are the result of side projects by Googlers, Gmail for example.
But there won't be another Gmail at Google, as two or three people won't get together to try out new ideas inside the company. Instead, they'll leave and form their own if they think they're on to something.
One of Reader's creators, Chris Wetherell, says he wouldn't have been able to create Reader in today's Google. A project like this would have to compete with Google+, which means it would never get off the ground.
"I would absolutely not do it inside of Google," he told Forbes. "I would hate that to be my idea versus Google Plus. That would be very frustrating."
He's not the only one who thinks this either. Granted, he's no longer with the Mountain View company and seeing his project get the axe couldn't have been pleasant. But it's not just former Googlers, disgruntled or not, who believe Google has changed.
Larry Page, who's been leading the company for the past couple of years, made it very clear when he started that he wanted "more wood behind fewer arrows." Later, he also made it clear that anyone who was not satisfied with that could find work somewhere else.