Boooooo, Google!
You may have already seen the news that Google is shutting down Reader on July 1. I never understood why Google didn't try to expand Reader's usage and extract value from all of that data. Google is in the business of selling targeted ads, right? Google Reader is my gateway to the Internet. Even more so than search, it reveals my interests and creates an accurate profile of me.
You are probably reading this post because you want to know what will happen to River of News. The short answer is I don't know, yet, what it will look like but I intend to keep River of News alive in some form. I've put too much time into it and I like the product too much to abandon it. And the iPhone version is kick-ass! I read my feeds constantly on my phone which I never did in the past because I didn't like any of the available apps.
My suggestion to you is not to panic and don't feel the need to immediately find a replacement for Google Reader. You don't need to do anything for three months. Google Reader and River of News will continue to function.
The most important aspect of Google Reader is the ecosystem around it. The technical functions of syncing your subscription list and aggregating content from multiple sources are straightforward to replace. (That doesn't mean it wouldn't be time consuming to implement but the path is clear.) What is hard to replace is the ubiquity of a single platform that uses the Gmail account you already have and is accessible from any browser or tons of native apps for every operating system and device.
That's why I'm not going to decide my next move immediately and I encourage you to wait before finding a replacement
Well, I for one am holding my breath. I use River of News on a (near) daily basis, but alongside the Google Reader web interface. I will need to find an alternative, and the way you go will definitely be a factor in making that choice.
ReplyDeleteI believe Google is going to backtrack on that decision, it's just a matter of time. Maybe this is even stunt to check how much people want the Reader, and eventually move it to Google+ or something stupid like that.
ReplyDeleteThe most contentious part of building a replacement feed-state-syncing API is where it should live. I would hate to see four or five replacement sites pop up, with no one of them integrating with all the news-reader apps I use on various platforms.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using app.net for this. My storage there is my own. App.net has a business model because people pay for subscriptions, making it more likely to stay around, and independent of advertisers who would want to monetize my private data. And it already has a great message/channel API for sending these type of pub/sub updates between devices.
I've implemented feed state syncing twice as part of two generations of Apple's Safari/RSS integration. Last night I wrote up a quick sketch of how a similar algorithm could work on app.net:
http://thought-palace.tumblr.com/post/45328704590/how-to-build-an-rss-sync-system-a-brain-dump
waiting for the good news
ReplyDeleteI hope you can make this work with many of the announced Google Reader API replacements that seem to be popping up already. River of News was the only iPad app that showed me Google Reader the way I wanted it: a long, continuous scrolling river of news.
ReplyDeleteI know that they're effectively a competitor currently, but Feedly says that they're going to be converting their own back-end system to something like Reader and opening up the API so third-party applications can use it. Whether there'll be a cost involved, I have no idea.
ReplyDeletethanks for the update
ReplyDeleteAfter my initial panic, I realized that about 80% of my Google Reader use is actually through River of News. The rest is through the website or the NewsRob Android app. So with that in mind, as long as you find a solution that also has web and Android options, I'll go where you go. Thanks for a great app.
ReplyDeleteWait.. What iPhone version?!?! :)
ReplyDeleteOf all the google-reader apps for ipad, River of News is by far my favorite. Keep up the great work! Looking forward to see what you do about the sad demise of google reader.
ReplyDeleteWhen can we expect the iPhone app to turn upp in the app store?
ReplyDeleteI hope you will be using feedly api or something like that would love to continue with my fav river of news app
ReplyDeleteI love River of News, I am looking forward to the iPhone app.
ReplyDeleteWhichever service you choose to use I will no doubt follow.
One thing that I would like is to support multiple services. I would gladly buy the iPad app again and buy a more expensive version fo the iPhone app if you could implement this (you've got to make some $$$) .
Good Luck
I hope you will be able to include the feedly api - gladly pay something for that option. I need to be able to also read news via browser and ideal with feedly and have it sinced with river of news. Hope for good news
ReplyDeleteAny news what you will do?
ReplyDeleteIt's been awhile since this blog post. I was wondering if you would happen to have any updates as to what can be expected or any ETA's as of yet? Been waiting for a great River of news update to read my Feedly feeds with! :)
ReplyDelete