I’m sure everyone is well aware by now that Google Reader is shutting down and, at first, I was a little frustrated with the news. I’m one of those that relied on my reader for news, blogs and even unusual things like following our Facebook Page notifications. Now that I’ve found an alternative that allows me to keep my RSS feed addiction fed, I’m all smiles. As a bonus, I found something better and I’m not alone…
Lifehacker took a poll of their readers last week asking for the best alternatives to Google Reader and Feedly took 65% (4867 of 7533 votes) of the vote as of this writing.
Mashable reported that 500,000 thousand Google Reader users have moved to Feedly.
It took a couple of days to get used to Feedly; that old dog – new trick thing, but now that I have a hang of it I think it’s a superior service as far as user experience.
A Painless Switch
I was able to, within minutes, move all of my feeds, including the folders they were organized in, from Google Reader to Feedly. I keep my feeds very organized into groups (folders) and I really wasn’t looking forward to starting from scratch with hundreds of feeds.
A Leap Of Faith
So here’s the deal; Feedly, as much as I’m loving it right now, has a lot of work to do before July 1st, 2013 when Google Readers shuts down. I don’t understand the mechanical details but Feedly is relying on Google Reader (Google Reader API) right now but Feedly has a plan that will seamlessly begin using their own back end (Normandy).
A Nice Surprise – Pocket
Yesterday I was going over my feed subscriptions looking for items our Newsletter subscribers would enjoy and I clicked over to the preferences section and noticed a setting for my “Pocket” info. What?! I can use Pocket with Feedly? I was already glad to see I could use Buffer and all the social share options but now I can send articles straight to Pocket; that made my day. 🙂
It’s All About Me?
I’m going to talk about me for a second because I’m assuming many of you will relate. I use a desktop, two laptops, a tablet and a smartphone every day. I need things to synch from system to system and when I’m logged in Google, the magic has always happened effortlessly for Google products.
Pocket is a nice tool because it works with everything as well. If I’m reading an article or blog post on my phone or tablet that I want to save it to read later on one of my other computers, I add it to Pocket and it’s ready for me wherever I’m at, whenever I need it.
Feedly offers the same convenience as Google and Pocket; If I add something from my phone, it’s immediately available on my computers. If I read a post on my computer, it shows as read on my phone. The same with things like tags and saves – it just works. Now that I can use Feedly and Pocket together, well, I just want to thank Google for shutting down Reader.
Okay, Feedly will need to pay me to keep selling it but I’d like to know your thoughts.
- Do you use any feed reader?
- Have you picked an alternative yet?
- Do you have any Feedly tips to share?
About Brian D. Hawkins
Thanks Brian. I have been looking for a Google reader replacement and was leaning towards Feedly already, having heard several good reviews even before the Google Announcement last week.
I will definitely get that one going. tried the other day and their site was down due to too much traffic at once ( was just a few hours after Google’s announcement)
Hi James, I guess they experienced a little growing pain for a minute but they’ve been adding servers to keep up.
That’s really sounds great, I’m currently using “NetVibes” for rss feeds. Though I will certainly try Feedly as well. I’ve read lot of good reviews about it. I think the Pocket option is really amazing. Thanks for your honest review Brian!!.
Hi Aasma, I guess a lot of people went to NetVibes last year when iGoogle shut down and many seem happy with it.
That’s a great point. Thanks for telling about this thing. Indeed, everyone is buzzing about Google reader alternatives, this one sounds pretty neat and worth trying)
Hi Brian,
I switched to feedly, too, and was somewhat fascinated by this little tool. I’m still a Google Reader fan because it’s just easy to use with one click for everything (fav, share, buffer, read later, etc.) and there are too many layout options on feedly for my taste but I can grow used to it.
Although I secretly pray for Reader not to be killed… 😉
It does take a little getting used to Robert. The themes are just colors (15 right now) and there are just 5 layout options to choose from. I’ll list them here for other readers:
– Magazine
– Condensed
– Mosaic
– Cards
– Full Articles
I never did use google reader. Didn’t like it at all. Have been using Feedly. It is easy and customization is really upto my needs.
Thanks Rajan, you’re ahead of the curve.
Thanks, I was just looking for a good alternative to a Reader. Will test-drive it ASAP.
Thanks for the tip! We’ve been looking for an alternative to Google Reader and had been looking at Feedly. Looking forward to seeing what else they might do with it…
I\’m thrilled to hear so many good things about Feedly! I can\’t believe I don\’t use Pocket yet either. That\’s gonna change. Thanks so much for this info. I was sweating the slow death of Reader.
There are always alternatives Celene. Let me know how you liked Pocket if you give it a try. 🙂
hey Brian,
Personally I am not using any feed reader, however, your mini review sounds interesting and I’d give Feedly a try…
That’s why I love surveys, as we get to hear from other users who’ve tried alternatives we’re not sure about yet…
Btw, I’m using Firefox bookmarks, to see when new posts appear, I think there’s a slight delay with RSS readers… did you hear about this issue as well?
I don’t think there’s a delay Allan and even if there is one for a few minutes it wouldn’t bother me. I don’t check my feeds until I have time for them anyway.
I use Chrome and I’m assuming you’re just referring to the bookmark feature in the Firefox browser and not an app, is that right?
I was really surprised when I read about Google Reader shutting down, but I haven’t thought much about what I’ll be doing next. Feedly sounds like a great alternative, but I hope it works with Reeder (the app I am using for my devices). I read most of the blogs via Reeder, and I don’t want to switch to a new system 🙂
Hi Jens, I’m not sure if it works in the Reeder app but they do have their own apps. The biggest thing for me is that the app and desktop/web page sync for me so I don’t have to start all over whenever I switch machines or devices, which is all day long.
Hi Brian, thanks for this great inform, I was full relying on Google Readers as well, but sad to hear that’s going to shut down and 500,000 people from Google Readers move to Feedly, that is so great try Feedly out.
Thanks – Ferb
Thanks Ferb, let me know how you linked it. 🙂
When Google Reader service stopped, I felt terribly shocked. Now after hearing about Feedly, I am feeling little bit good. Still I’m learning how to full use of Feedly.
Thanks for update news
Hi
Was just going through to see what there was to replace reader and just come across your post about feebly hadn’t heard about it until then. So will have a look now.
Thanks for info lee
The transition was no biggie for me.
Actually, I wasn’t even using Google reader for my rss subscriptions!
Whatever your case may be, Feedly is the best alternative in using it as your rss reader alongside what I am using 😉
Hope it works out Brian..
Hi Brian,
I wasn’t using a RSS reader, although I was using Appy Geek on Android. I am using Feedly now and I really like it. I found out you can pinch to zoom out on an article and also “pull” on the bottom to exit out. The widgets and extension on Google Chrome are also very useful.
It really is user-friendly Matthew. I use it on my phone and computers.
Feedly does seem much better than Google Reader from the many reviews I have read, including yours but I’m still somehow comfortable with Google Reader. Thanks for sharing the honest review though.
Finally we find another other tool which will replace the function of Google Reader. This is amazing.
It does not matter if we adapt with this new tool. It takes time but we will get accustomed with it.
It seems Feedly will substitute Google Reader.
Thank you for this precious information.
Hi Brian…I just made a transition to Feebly and boy i’m loving it…It’s much more than what i’ve expected from a Google reader alternative..It’s simply convenience and style in one place.
Thats a bad news, because most of the people were familiar with Google Reader. I’ve never heard about Feedly but it looks nice as an alternative. Thanks Brian for informing us.
I’m really new to using readers. Previously I have merely had any feeds I subscribed to go directly to my email. Is organization the main advantage to using a reader like feebly? I have no experience with the Google reader so it the changeover really doesn’t affect me.
wow that was awesome feedly was great i enjoyed while using it great share
After the notice from Google, I thought it’d take time to find another one something like Google. I am gonna try it. Thanks!
Don’t find feedly comfortable for me. I’ve tried almost all online readers, but the best choice for me is BlogBridge. Nothing can be better at this time.
Feedly has gained a lot of market share over the last few months and it seems to be a great alternative to Google Reader.