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July 1 is the day when you will no longer to be able to use Google Reader, an RSS subscription service from, you guessed it, Google. Plenty of articles have been written about the shuttering of Reader and almost all have recommended Feedly as the best replacement for Reader.
If you use Google Reader to read articles using an RSS subscription, head to Feedly and with one click you can copy all of your Google Reader RSS subscriptions to Feedly. But make sure to do this before July 1 when Google Reader closes, otherwise you’ll have to re-create your subscriptions in Feedly.
[tip]Check out Adrienne Smith’s Goodbye Google Reader and Hello Feedly for a helpful video on how to set up a Feedly account. [/tip]
Reader is not the first service Google has ended, though the outcry about the end of Reader seems to be louder than previous protests about the end of other Google services. Lots of Google services have met their demise, some left quietly in the night. Others, such as photo editing Picnik, had users scurrying to find suitable substitutes.
While we may mourn the loss of services past, and worry about the longevity of our favorite services, take a moment to consider how many Google services we depend upon in our daily lives. We think little of utilizing Google’s many services, most of which are 100% free of charge.
Google:
- helps us find our way with Google Maps
- instructs us with YouTube videos
- informs us with Google Search
- manages our communication with Gmail
- helps us browse the Internet with Chrome
- gives us video chats with Google Plus Hangouts
- powers our smartphones with Android
- gives us word processing and stores our files in the Cloud with Google Drive
- manages our photos with Picasa
- provides phone service with Google Voice
- helps us overcome language barriers with Google Translate
- helps us discover new places with Field Trip
In the future, will Google Glass and Project Loon become essential Google services we depend upon?
What if Google announced it was closing all of its services? We could scramble to find the best alternatives, but chances are there are some services you would miss more than others.
Which Google service would you miss the most? If you could keep just one Google service, which would it be? Vote in The Wonder of Tech poll and let us know your opinion! (You can only vote once)
Note: The results of this poll are unscientific. If you’re employed by Google, please do NOT consider this poll as an indication to close services in the future.
Free Google
Imagine if you had to pay money each time you used Google Maps, watched a YouTube video, sent or received an email from Gmail, or searched a keyword on Google Search. Would you use these services as often?
While Google doesn’t charge money for its services, it does collect your data. (See, Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson) Would you prefer to pay versus having your data collected by Google?
Your Thoughts
Are you switching from Google Reader to Feedly? Is there a former Google service that you’re missing? Do you trust Google services less because you’re worried about them going away some day? Let us know in the Comments section below!
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Want more Wonder of Tech? Check out my guest post at Jayme Soulati’s Soulati-’TUDE – Blog The Happy Friday Series: Thriving Or Surviving?.
Hi Carolyn,
At the moment maps and search have equal votes, I’m not surprised, but I would miss Google Chrome and I do use translate a lot too. Youtube is something I occasionally use, so I can live without it. I can live without Gmail too, there are alternatives, but it would be inconvenient to lose it. I’ve never got into RSS feeds, but would like to understand them. A local news site uses my RSS to link to my blog posts, I would like to do that.
You will be pleased to know that A Zillion Ideas is on a new server and so faster! 🙂 It has been slow at times…
Hi Mike, That’s very cool about the local news linking to your site using RSS. You make a good point that which Google service we would miss is dependent on suitable replacements. For Google Alerts we have TalkWalker Alerts, for Google Reader we have Feedly. Gmail now is the most versatile email service but perhaps others would be created to take its place if it were closed.
Congratulations on A Zillion Ideas moving to a new server. With all of your amazing photos you need a speedy server!
Hi Carolyn,
I have never used Google Reader, because I started blogging only about 2 months ago, and right from the beginning I heard that Google Reader will be gone after June. So I started with Feedly straight-away to keep track of some blogs which are must-reads for me.
Otherwise I mainly depend on my Twitter feed to check out new posts.
The poll is a tough one. I voted for Search, but had a lot of confusion between search, android, gmail and chrome.
Hi Sourav, That’s good that you started out with Feedly to make your life easier. I often find out about new posts via Triberr and Zite so I don’t use RSS as much as I used to.
Choosing just one Google service is tough. I would hate to see any of the choices go away, but that’s what makes the poll so interesting, I think.
I also would miss Google Search but I voted Maps because I really do think Google Maps offers the most information presented in a very usable way.
Hi Carolyn,
I think most of all I would miss Chrome. I LOVE Chrome and all it’s extensions. I’ve used Firefox and IE and well, Chrome is just better imo. I am a lil worried that Google may phase out more of my beloved goodies, like Google Reader. This is why I’m not putting all my eggs in that Google basket. I have multiple emails and all use to be Google. I’m switching that up. G+ I don’t think would ever go anywhere as they feel it’s a competitor to FB.
I tried Feedly when Google first announced the demise of it’s reader. I found it to be quirky and didn’t like having to login all the dang time. I’ve been using Bloglovin’ and The Old Reader (very similar to GReader). I also got my invite to Digg’s new reader and started using it, however it is still in Beta and I find it to be quirky. So for now, I’m still left disgruntled at the fact no more GReader and even more upset at the options out there. GReader was the ultimate for me. Just majorily bummed. 🙁
Hi Bren, Wow, I haven’t had any problems with Feedly and don’t have to log in at all. Whenever I go to Feedly.com, my RSS list opens as my home page there. I’m wondering if you have cookies disabled on Chrome?
I too am a fan of Chrome and would miss it very much. You’re right about the extensions, I find them incredibly handy and no other browser has as many as Chrome. I also have multiple emails but the add ons for Gmail make it my favorite email service.
Good point about not putting all of your eggs into one basket but often Google’s basket seems to be the most useful one!
Hi Carolyn and thanks for replying.
My cookies are enabled. Not sure what the issue was/is but I’ve moved on from Feedly. There are soooo many alternatives I almost said the heck with a reader and went total email. Oh my! What a nightmare that would be! 😉
Yes, Chrome is my baby that’s for sure. I know some don’t care for it but I’m lost if I have to use Firefox or IE.
Have a great weekend!
Bren, it’s funny because a few people are having issues with Feedly while others, like me, are having a very smooth transition. I hope you find a feed reader that works well for you!
I was a huge user of Reader and was not very impressed with Feedly when I first make the switch in the beginning of the year. But I have to say that Feedly has made some major improvements to itself over the last 6 months and corrected many bugs that were, well, bugging me. I now recommend it to anyone looking for a Reader alternative.
Hi Robert, You’re right, Feedly has come a long way and now has a very attractive site. I like how you can change colors and themes to customize your Feedly experience.
Losing Gmail would be extremely inconvenient. I have eight years’ worth of professional communications on my original account!
YouTube, which I use everyday, could conceivably be replaced by and by. There’s Vimeo for the pro/semi-pro crowd, blip.tv, dailymotion – and for webmasters, plenty of pro wordpress templates now support self-hosted video.
iGoogle, that I still miss. It was my homepage and I’d gathered lots of useful widgets there, like maps, weather, news headlines and forex. Now I have Google News as my home page on Firefox, and myfav.es on Chrome. But it’s not quite the same.
People who own Blogger blogs won’t miss reader so much, because the Blogger blog features a Reader-like blogroll. But it’s not quite the same thing, now is it.
Hi John, You’re right, I have had email services close and it isn’t fun. Saving the important emails can be done but requires some work.
You’re right about YouTube having alternatives, good point. YouTube has other features such as streaming movies but so do other services.
I miss Aardvark, a service where you could ask people questions that was very useful to finding out information. Google bought it and closed it, just as it did with Picnik.
I didn’t include Blogger in the poll, but perhaps someone will add that in the Other category.
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us, John!
It’s a shame about Aardvark, but despair not. Are you familiar with Stack Exchange? It’s become an admirable Q&A platform, with topics ranging from skepticism to Ubuntu to homebrewing.
I tried Feedly today, on your recommendation. I was so delighted I had to blog about it, and let my readers know – Almost half of my readers get my updates through the Google feedfetcher. (Oh Noes.) So I owed them at least a heads-up.
John, you deserve to keep every one of your readers. I hope your captivating article propels them to switch to Feedly before tomorrow.
I hadn’t heard of Stack Exchange. I will have to check that out as I still miss Aardvark. My oldest daughter would ask for friendship advice on Aardvark once and received some heartfelt and insightful responses.
I hope everyone has found an alternative by now Carolyn but they also need this reminder. I appreciate you mentioning my post and if people want to see how Feedly works then I think my video will be helpful.
There are so many alternatives out there so finding the one you like is what people need to do.
When I was doing some research not long ago I found a site that listed all of Google’s services and I was overwhelmed by them all. I wanted to get away from Google because I felt they had way too much control over the internet but I also admit that so many of their products rock. I can’t even imagine doing away with my Gmail.
I have a feeling I know what those poll results will end up showing.
Thanks Carolyn,
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Your video showed how very easy it is to switch from Google Reader to Feedly. Most blogs picked Feedly as the best Google Reader alternative, but you did such a wonderful job of explaining how to get started with Feedly in your video that I wanted to share it here.
So, what is your prediction about the poll? Just curious…
Thanks again Carolyn for sharing the video.
My vote was Gmail but now that they have so many other cool programs it could be anything really. I think all the others can be easily substituted but finding a good email is hard.
Yes, you’re right, Adrienne, there really isn’t an email provider that’s nearly as powerful as Gmail right now. Whether another email provider would step in and fill the void isn’t guaranteed.
I have never really used Google Reader. I don’t think I will miss it. Gmail is a different issue altogether. I have been using it from the very beginning and I think I am even a little addicted to it. I just can’t imagine waking up in the morning and not checking my Gmail account. 🙂
Hi Churchill, Yes, I have been using Gmail from nearly the beginning too. You’re right, Gmail has improved tremendously from the beginning. It’s very tough to imagine life without it! I’m hoping we never have to find out what life would be like without Gmail.
Hi, Carolyn. I voted for maps, and I was surprised to see a lot of people voted for maps, too. No, not paying for them – someone else will re-establish them if Google doesn’t have them.
I’ve been using Feedly practically since the awful announcement. I’m getting used to it. I finally figured out how to mark folders as read. I do find it slower than Google Reader, but other than that, I’ll manage. I tried to get rid of the green color (I got the links to be gray), but some of the green still shows through. The logo has that green. I just don’t like the color …
Hi Leora, Yes, Google Maps really make a huge difference in our lives. Those can help guide us, show us traffic jams and help us navigate in unfamiliar territory. After the Apple Maps fiasco last fall, we have a new appreciation for Google Maps!
The service that i would miss the most would probably be Gmail ….My Gmail account is active since the year 2008 and has got 1000’s of mails in it …these mails are part of my life …i try to recollect my old days from looking at those mails(when i got my first job offer letter,Mails to relatives,Friends…etc)..I wish gmail exist for ever . And thanks for haring the free book “The Future of a Radical Price” ..would go through it in leisure time.
Regards,
pramod
Excellent point, Pramod. Our email accounts can hold treasures, much as a letter box did in the olden days of paper letters. While you could forward treasured emails to a different email account, that would take a lot of work with an account as old as yours!
Easy choice for me… Gmail is where I have all my contact/emails/information about things and so on. I use it as a storage for anything that is slightly important. If gmail would be shut down I would be in big trouble…
Hi Johan, I am very impressed with how many people are passionate about Gmail. I’m a fan too but I didn’t realize how broad and deep the support was for the email provider.
You’re right, Gmail is a very handy way to store files. Just email them to yourself to be able to access them from anywhere! :-bd
Undoubtedly I will really miss Google maps services if it disappeared.. I’am searching adresses almost 20 times a day… It comes with awesome features like satellite view… I really coudn’t do without it 🙂
Bonjour ALV, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, the loss of Google Maps would be huge. The service has so many features, each one would be a huge loss.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Hi Carolyn
I tried Feedly but as I mentioned to Adrienne, I found it quite frustrating.
I stopped using it a couple of weeks ago because at times it wouldn’t do what it should be doing.
For example, if I tried to move a feed from one group into another, Feedly wouldn’t do it. I would have to go into Google Reader and do it and then log back into Feedly. It sometimes also wouldn’t add a new RSS feed either.
So, I bought a self-hosted RSS reader, Fever and find it much more user-friendly and it does what I ask it to do! Let’s hope my web host never goes down and I can’t access it :-).
I think the only Google services I would really miss are Search and Chrome. I don’t really use any of the others to any great extent, apart from Google+.
Hi Tim, Wow, that’s impressive that you bought a self-hosted RSS reader. I haven’t tried moving a feed to a different folder, though I was very pleased with how Feedly preserved my folders in moving them from Google Reader.
Hi Carolyn,
It looks like practically no one would miss Google Hangouts. That’s funny to me. I would miss Google+ the most. I’m just getting in the habit of checking in and conversing there. The good news for me is the more I use Google+, the less I use Facebook.
Oddly enough, I don’t us an RSS reader. I do have feeds subscribed to Google Reader but I think a clean sweep would be best for me. At this point, I may sign up for Digg’s Reader – mainly because it’s piqued my interest. I used to enjoy the old Digg from years past and I’d like to see if they could rebrand themselves.
Hi Sherryl, Yes, my theory on Google Hangouts is that they’re new so people aren’t wedded to the service yet. I enjoy Hangouts a lot and would miss them if they were gone but there are other services I would miss more.
I haven’t been using Google Reader as much as I did in the past, pre-Triberr, but I did want to transfer my RSS subscriptions to Feedly before tomorrow’s deadline.
Several people have signed up for Digg’s new reader, but I’ve read that it’s still a bit buggy yet. Perhaps there won’t be a universal reader that satisfies everyone, which is probably good because of competition.
Carol, I would say maps. I use them a lot for my day job as I travel around. I would have thought search but there is something called “Bing”.
I am concerned about Google Feedburner. Looking for alternatives as that may go too shortly.
I must admit I love Chrome as it’s faster than Firefox but I could live with Firefox. Maybe I could live without Google? Except I love my Droid and it’s all Google powered. They really have us now, don’t they?
I don’t feel search is FREE because of the millions of dollars poured into AdWords. They are probably one of the most profitable companies out there today.
Great post Carol and love your image of the cemetery stones.
Hi Lisa, I’m with you, Google Maps is my choice. You’re right, Google provides so many services to us that it’s difficult to pick just one.
I’m concerned about Feedburner too, but if you look at revenue generation, Feedburner makes more sense for Google as it brings readers to actual websites where people can view AdSense ads, creating revenue for Google. But perhaps that’s wishful thinking on my part…
You’re right about Google services not being free. We’re trading our data and privacy when we use Google services, but no one has commented that they would rather pay cold, hard cash than trade their data and privacy.
Thanks, I had fun creating that image on PicMonkey. 🙂
For me, Search would still be the hardest to replace. I could suffer and buy an iPhone but I don’t think I could handle the suffering required to use Bing daily LOL
Hi Kim, Yes, if you have a large screen on your Android phone, switching to an iPhone may be especially challenging.
Google search is very powerful and gives you the ability to refine your search parameters. Losing Google Search would be tragic, but since it’s their main business, the likelihood that Search would disappear seems slim.
Thanks for stopping by and voting, Kim!
I have to say that Google Reader is the one thing that I’ll miss the most. Also, I would have hard time without Google Translate. However, I don’t like the fact that Google forces me to use the same identity on YouTube and +Google. Also, I wouldn’t miss +Google that much as I hardly use it.
Hi Mike, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, Google Translate is very handy. I love that it offers to translate pages on Chrome when I arrive on a website in a language other than English.
You can use a different Gmail address for Google Plus and YouTube so you don’t have to share an account, but it may be handy for notifications to have just one account.
Hi, Carolyn, just in the nick of time! I have switched to Feedly, thanks to Adrienne. Honestly I do not use a reader that much but just in case. I was also checking out Hootsuite Syndicator but find it rather complicated (read: I have to invest some more study time!).
Have a wonderful first July week and a fantastic 4th of July!
Hi Barbara, I am glad you were able to move your feed subscription before today’s deadline. Sure, you could recreate your RSS suscriptions manually, but it’s so much easier to click one button and have it done for you.
Thanks so much for your good wishes, Barbara. You have a great week ahead too!
I liked Picnik a lot. It’s a shame that it has ended. It was a great site for editing pictures.
So true, Anna Lyn. Picnik was great. I suggest you check out PicMonkey, which was created by the founders of Picnik. See my review of the site: PicMonkey – Make the Most of Your Pictures
Hi Carolyn,
This is a very serious and important topic.
1. Google is important not just for their services. There is even one more important factor. Google is a superpower who impose standards in many domains. With no standards there would be chaos. But you need superpowers like Google or Facebook to implement, support and protect standards. If Google would disappear over night, it would be a disaster. So I don’t like Google but I admit it is useful, valuable and must remain with us for a long time.
2. One very important downsize: we must not become so Google dependent. No matter how much traffic Google will send us, we need to identify new sources.
3. “What if Google announced it was closing all of its services?” This would be a tremendous shock, I admit. However, internet will survive and new companies will raise. Nobody is irreplaceable. Not even Google.
4. “Would you prefer to pay versus having your data collected by Google?”. I don’t think these must be the only alternatives. I prefer not to pay and I strongly prefer my data not to be collected. After the PRISM scandal, new search engines appeared rapidly on the market. This shows us there are a lot of “agents”, powers etc. that are just waiting on the corner ready to take over every aspect and domain, if companies like Google or Facebook fail. DuckDuckGo, for example, do not collect data from the users. If this would be the main factor for success … a lot of companies will soon implement it.
5. I think I identified a major, huge need and want that is slowly increasing every day.
I don’t know if I will be able to describe it properly. But you are a very intelligent person and you will understand.
I think we rely too much on software, programs that we do not own, on programs that are outside our control and on sites that are out our control.
What people really need is to have everything under their control. I don’t want to be put down by the fact that one company decided to update or not to update a software. I don’t want to be affected by the fact that one company decided to run a new algorithm and my business went down because of this etc.
What I need is my own search engine, my own blogging platform, my own blog theme, my own tracking system, my own autoresponder, my own plugins and so on.
This is a huge, huge need. Sooner or later people will realize it.
Example. I need a search engine that does not rely on anybody’s database. I need a search engine that uses it’s own spiders that crawl the net and create my own personal database that grows over time. I need a search engine that builds itself over time.
Generally speaking I need programs that gather information from the net in a legitimate way.
I don’t know if I succeeded to present the idea.
Have a nice day
Wow, Silviu, You are precisely right. This shows how much we depend upon Google in our daily lives. Yet Google is a business that can cancel its services at any time. By Google not charging money for its services, it made its services available to anyone with an Internet connection. If Google charged money directly for its services, the Internet would be a very different place.
You’re right about the standards. Having a single dominant power sets the standards so the world isn’t splintered int many different formats. Yet there is the danger of being too dependent on one business, as you point out.
While it would be ideal to have our own search engines, blogging platforms, email services, etc., for the average person, that solution probably isn’t likely to happen.
A solution might be more competition. Competitive markets help prevent a single company from becoming dominant in a field. Yet Google doesn’t have serious competition in search, maps or video. Bing can give us rewards and Duck Duck Go can give us anonymous search results, yet Google continues to dominate because most people prefer the targeted search results Google provides, in spite of the data tracking.
Thank you very much for pointing out the importance of this issue, Silviu. Your thoughtful comment provides valuable insights for us all to consider.
I voted for Google search.
I cant imagine a world without saying “Google it”
And my business wouldn’t exist without it.
Hi Mark, You’re right, it’s difficult to imagine a world where we couldn’t just “Google it.” Google does help businesses by including them in search results. Plenty of people have discovered local businesses through Google.
Hi Carolyn,
I’m not wondering if Google wants to shut down few more services as they forecast future through stats and focus on big ideas. Well, that’s how they survive and thrive for a long period of time as a company 😉
I’m using almost all the products and services you mentioned up there 🙂 But for me, the most critical one will be Blogger, eventhough I have all the backups I needed. That’s where I rely much on Google.
However I’m not worrying or regret about Google spying on us dear 🙂 It’s been always possible. Developers know that they can spy on anyone who use their products or services with or without any permission. But it’s ethics that stops ’em from doing it. If we had to pay for Google products / services, it could have been a different story.
You have a fabulous time over there Carolyn 🙂
Cheers…
Hi Mayura, You’re right, no need to worry about Google spying on us. Pretty much anything we put on the Internet can be seen by the world. Too many times people have relied on privacy in emails, Facebook and Twitter, only to be embarrassed when their writings were revealed to others.
You make great use of Blogger, Mayura. Transferring your valuable content to another platform would be an onerous task!
Android off course. I am an Android fanboy and i think this is the perfect OS for a smartphone.
I have used Windows and iOS, but i don’t find myself comfortable with them.
And i don’t miss Google Reader, i used to found it a bit ugly, so i never used it.
Hi Karan, Yes, people need to use the phone they’re most comfortable with and Android is a very powerful OS. It would surely be missed if it were gone and would leave Apple without any serious competition in the mobile market, which isn’t good for anyone.
Google search, hands down. What would happen to webmasters without that Google SERP traffic?
Excellent point, Frank. Not only do we benefit from search results as readers, we benefits from them as bloggers too!
Google and its services are so important that the word “google” is used as a synonym for searching. Google Search is their oldest feature and I think it will be missed the most if it will be closed.
Hi Alex, Excellent point. If Google got Reid of search, then we would have to change our vocabulary!
Googles all service are best and very useful for us. Youtube is my first chice on net me most miss Youtube i like its so much .
Hi Mahendra, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! YouTube is certainly a popular service, as shown by the search results. Whether you’re looking for a fun or instructional video, you’ll probably find it on YouTube!
Hi Carolyn,
I wish I could have given options to select at least three variants from the list…..I would choose Google Search, YouTube and G-Mail then…..I can’t survive a week without these, three tools… that’s for sure…..
Hi Aditya, yes, I usually let readers pick more than one option at The Wonder of Tech polls, but this time I made you choose a favorite. I wanted to illustrate how vital we regards many of Google services. Those three choices are certainly popular choices in the poll results.
Hi Carolyn, Google’s services have become very much a part of our daily lives. We depend so much on them that we don’t keep any other service as an alternative. However, I dpend a lot on Google’s search engine for everything I do, be it working, blogging, or learning.
Hello Jack, you’re right, Google is ingrained into our daily lives. We use a lot of their services daily, often without a second thought. Yes when an important service is canceled, then we have to consider the consequences if other services were canceled. Search is the primary service of Google, I hope it never gets canceled!
I thought that I would answer Google Reader, but now that I’ve been using Feedly for more than a week, I am very satisfied with the results. I actually don’t miss Google Reader at all 🙂 I believe that YouTube would be the service I will miss the most. I use YouTube every day to watch all kinds of things.
Hi Jens, I’m glad you have been so pleased with Feedly, I have been enjoying it too. It’s great when a service goes away to have a worthy substitute available.
YouTube is an incredibly valuable service. You can learn a lot using YouTube. The videos can be fun and instructional.
I will miss Google reader, i am disappointed …
I would miss Google Chrome too
Hello Hosting, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re not alone. I hope you find a good substitute for reader and that you never have to find a substitute for Chrome.
Hello Nicander Mohr,
You forgot to mention blogger.com,a great blogging platform like WordPress.
Didn’t knew about Field Trip,thanks for telling.
Hi Kevin, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I actually didn’t forget about Blogger, I didn’t include it or other Google services such as Google Drive, Google Analytics, etc. I figured that’s what the “Other” response was for.
But you’re right, I probably should have included it because two readers have mentioned Blogger in the Other category.
I never used google reader.what is it? what is it purpose?
Hi Leo, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Google Reader was a Google service to help you read your RSS feed subscriptions. You can read more about how this works at How to Subscribe and Read RSS Feeds, an article at The Wonder of Tech by guest author Adrienne Smith.