Digg: we’re going to build a Google Reader replacement, starting today

Google Reader demise

Digg, a social news service struggling for relevance in the age of Reddit and mobile apps that gather news, says it’s going to build its own RSS client. The company actually aimed to release such a software in the second half of 2013, but has now accelerated those plans after news of Google Reader’s demise.

Digg’s Reader will make the Internet “a more approachable and digestible place.” It’s being built around modern web technologies, making it “fit the Internet of 2013.” Digg has pledged to rebuild the most popular Google Reader APIs so its Reader could sync with existing third-party clients and replicate the most popular Google Reader capabilities.

Some form of integration with other social media sources like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit and Hacker News is also being mulled. This should be an exciting development for all you loyal Reader fans out there…

“After Google’s announcement, we’re moving the project to the top of our priority list,” Digg explains “We’re going to build a reader, starting today.”

Digg’s blog post reads:

We hope to identify and rebuild the best of Google Reader’s features (including its API), but also advance them to fit the Internet of 2013, where networks and communities like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit and Hacker News offer powerful but often overwhelming signals as to what’s interesting.

Don’t get us wrong: we don’t expect this to be a trivial undertaking. But we’re confident we can cook up a worthy successor.

Digg will accept your feature requests, suggestions and register your interest here.

Digg Reader (Register your interest)

The surprising outrage ensued following Google’s surprise announcement that the Reader service will no longer be accessible after July 1 (that’s in 108 days from today).

In case you slept under a rock yesterday, Google Reader – along with the desktop Snapseed apps and a few other rarely used Google services – has been discontinued as part of the streamlining at the firm.

The decision backfired, as evident in the team’s blog post titled ‘Powering Down Google Reader’.

“We know Reader has a devoted following who will be very sad to see it go,” the team wrote. “We’re sad too.”

If you rely on RSS for your news gathering process and would like to find a new home for your feeds, Cody has a handy list of the ten most popular Google Reader alternatives for the Mac and iOS.

I’m not really sure why Google thought maintaining Reader wasn’t worth the effort.

At any rate, killing such a useful service has certainly damaged the company’s reputation, if the outcry on the Interwebs is an indication.

Are you looking forward to the Digg Reader?

I know I am…