14 DAY TRIAL // It was inevitable perhaps, though the people still using it aren't going to be thrilled about it, Google Reader will be killed off on July 1. RSS never became incredibly popular so Reader never became incredibly popular either.
But Google hasn't invested anything into Reader for years, apart from a redesign a while ago, a redesign which killed many of the social features that people loved.
"We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined," Google's Urs Hölzle, SVP of Technical Infrastructure, wrote.
"So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months," he added.
Google buried the news in a spring cleaning announcement, in which it killed several other features and products, though it did post something on the Google Reader blog as well.
But it probably knew what to expect, Google Reader users may be few but they are vocal. What's more, Reader users are much more likely to be the ones writing about it anyway.
It's no surprise then that people took to Twitter in particular to vent their anger, there are even petitions to save the product.
It's probably no good, but at least there are some alternatives, albeit poorer ones. There are signs that people are stepping up to replace Reader, a good thing since Reader hasn't seen any new features or improvements for years.
Along with bloggers and journalists, Reader was popular with developers and it seems quite a few of them are stepping up to fill in the void left by Reader's demise.