By now you’ve already heard that Google Reader is closing down this summer. As the news spread people aired their frustration on social media and blogs everywhere. If you depend on Reader to get your daily news or just to follow your friends’ blogs, things will likely change for you. But, the bigger question some have been asking is, “Is the era of the RSS feed over?”
Personally, I think this sentiment is an overreaction. Yes, Google is an industry and thought leader, but the loss of one of dozens of feed services doesn’t signal the death of an entire channel of communication.
Blogging Isn’t Going Anywhere
All kinds of businesses use blogs as a way to reach their markets, make announcements and boost their SEO rankings. In fact, entire businesses are built on blogs. It’s highly unlikely that the loss of Google Reader will prompt people and businesses to stop blogging.
Furthermore, people still read blogs. Blogs have become a major source of news, entertainment and education. Some businesses will face the challenge of retaining readers who subscribed to their blog via Google Reader, but there are ways to overcome these challenges. Just one solution is to encourage readers to sign up for a new RSS feed service and subscribe to your company blog.
We Still Need a Way to Sort Through Information
In an age of information overload people need a way to sort through all the content that is out there and RSS feeds are still the best way to do that. It would be ridiculous for major blog fans to completely stop reading blogs just because Google Reader is no more. It would be equally ridiculous for people to check each and every one of the dozens of blogs they are fans of on a daily basis. Email subscriptions are a successful way for passive followers to get updates, but not everyone likes to wade through an inbox of new-post notifications.
As Google Reader is phased out, the public will find ways to replace that service. They will start using a competing product, there are lots to choose from, and RSS will be alive and well for the foreseeable future.
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