What to do About Google Reader?

In a spring cleaning update last week Google announced that they will be shutting down Google Reader on July 1st 2013.

This announcement concerns me from two points of view.

Firstly, I am a long time user of Google Reader and have close to 100 subscriptions that I follow for Exchange Server, general IT, and other topics of interest. Reading those feeds on the train, on lunch break, or while relaxing at home is a habit that I’m quite fond of.

Secondly, many of you (quite a lot actually, I hadn’t checked the stats in a while) following this site in Google Reader.

So it seems that quite a lot of you share the same problem I have – what to do for an RSS reader when Google Reader shuts down.

How to Get Updates from Exchange Server Pro

Here are my suggestions right now:

1. If you prefer to stick with RSS subscriptions I encourage you to look at alternative RSS readers and find one that will not be impacted by the Google Reader shutdown. You have a few months before the deadline, but personally I’m making the move ASAP. I discuss my own decision a little further down this page.
2. If you want to get regular updates from Exchange Server Pro every week or two via email you can subscribe to the free newsletter. You’ll also get access to free resources such as the Beginner’s Guide to Exchange Server 2010 ActiveSync.
3. If you prefer to use social networks to stay up to date you can follow me on Twitter or like the Exchange Server Pro Facebook page.

Alternatives to Google Reader

I’ve been looking at alternatives to Google Reader over the last few days, and for now I’ve settled on Feedly.

Apparently more than 500,000 new users have moved to Feedly since last week’s announcement, and they are focusing mainly on keeping the service up and running with all of the additional load, but also taking feature suggestions and other feedback from their users.

The interface is pretty cool but you can also trim it down to a more compact, lightweight interface if you prefer.

Getting set up with Feedly is as simple as logging in with your Google account. They synch your feeds across and are promising that there will be a seamless transition to their own feed aggregation back end when Google Reader shuts down.

In case that falls through my plan B is to switch to Newsblur. They offer both free and paid plans depending on how many sites you want to follow in your RSS feeds. I expect Feedly will probably go to a paid model soon enough as well. I’m willing to pay $20-$30/yr for a good RSS aggregation service and apps.

A lot of third party apps that are Google Reader clients have also announced plans to switch to other aggregation services, so it is worth checking with your app to see what they have planned. But perhaps it is also worth making sure you’ve got an alternative ready to go.

What are Your Plans?

Have you found a solution to the shutdown of Google Reader? Please share your tips in the comments below.