Happy Friday everyone! Now that the month is finally wrapping up, it’s time to look ahead to June. One thing I’ve had looming over me for the month of June is the impending loss of Google Reader.
For those of you that don’t use Google Reader, it’s an RSS feed service that compiles all the blogs you follow into one easy to read location which tracks your reading history as you go. It is the only way I manage to keep up with all the blogs I read, because checking them individually would take far too much memory and patience. Unfortunately, Google recently announced that it would be closing down Google Reader on July 1st. In addition to striking panic into the hearts of Reader users everywhere, this leaves us only one more month to transition to a reasonable alternative.
Luckily, the internet is on top of this situation. The three front-runners to inherit your Reader data seem to be Feedly, The Old Reader, and Newsblur. Personally, I’ve opted for Feedly, but I’m giving myself the month of June to take it for a test drive.
Each of these options seem to offer something very similar to the reader experience, and some have the added benefit of a mobile-app which Google Reader never offered. But please don’t take my word for it. There are some very helpful articles floating around that break down all the options so that even I can understand them.
The folks at lifehacker put together a basic introduction to the top 5 Google Reader alternatives complete with their findings about user preference and popularity. It’s a quick read and will give you a basic overview.
To go a little more in-depth, or if you’re just looking for a direct recommendation, check out this article on The Verge. They offer their recommendations while also commenting on all contenders in the ring.
So, if you use Google Reader to catch up on Garlic, My Soul or any of your other favorite blogs, take a few minutes to pick an alternative and transfer your information over to another service sometime between now and July 1st. Or if you have no idea what an RSS feed is, but you’re looking for a way to stay up to date on GMS, you can go lo-fi and subscribe to our updates by email in the “Want GMS in your Inbox?” section on the right-hand side of the page.
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