In March of this year, Google announced that it would be shutting down its news aggregation service Google Reader. The news sent the tech world into a frenzy, and spawned a petition with over 100,000 signatures.
So why, if it was so popular, did Google decide to shut Reader down? Initially, it was written off as a ‘spring cleaning’ measure to kill a dying service. But today, a new report offers more details on the reason for its demise…
Wired was able to track down and speak with Richard Gringras, who is the Senior Director of News & Social Products at Google. And he had a few words to say about the tech giant’s decision to shutdown Google Reader:
“As a culture we have moved into a realm where the consumption of news is a near-constant process. Users with smartphones and tablets are consuming news in bits and bites throughout the course of the day — replacing the old standard behaviors of news consumption over breakfast along with a leisurely read at the end of the day.”
I have to agree with Gringras here. There was a time when I used Google Reader frequently throughout my day to get the latest tech news. But as soon as I started messing around with Twitter and its Lists feature, I was hooked.
I still use Reeder, a popular app for Google Reader, every now and then. But for the most part, I use Twitter and my ‘Tech News’ list for the latest news updates. So honestly, I’m not in any hurry to find a Reader replacement.
But for those that are, make sure to check out our list of Google Reader alternatives. Reader is scheduled to shutdown on July 1.