I think it is safe to say that most bloggers had a moment of severe panic whenever they heard about the demise of Google Reader. Google Reader is probably a huge part of why I have people who read what I have to say. When I first found out I was dumbfounded.
It was a lot to take in. Then of course, came the next stage.
After which, I felt incredibly shallow for caring so much about numbers. It was never the point of getting this started. The idea of losing readers does stink though when you work really hard to attain them.
And thus I went through the stages of mourning Google Reader. When I started to look into my options though, I started to feel tons better. There are so many options available for people looking to switch readers. I looked into a couple of them.
A super popular reader to switch to is Feedly. I check it out. It's actually pretty awesome. You can categorize posts into folders, mark articles for later use, and it is well organized. Appearance-wise, it's super clean-cut and you can change the colors for your preference. Another cool thing about it is that it has apps for your iPhone, Andriod, and Kindle.
Next there is bloglovin' which I have seen become pretty popular as an alternative. The set-up is much more Tumblr-like. You have the options to sort by blog or date, much like Google Reader. Apparently they now have handy apps that you can download and the landscape is much like what many of us are used to. I know that I personally have added the option to follow through bloglovin' on my own blog.
*ATTENTION BLOGGERS* If you want this to be an option that you can track, you need to get your blog set up on bloglovin'. It's super easy, but you will have to make that step.
Both of these options can connect with Google Reader and import all of your blogs that you follow. Both of them will give the option when you are setting up. Luckily Google gave us some time to find our perfect fit for an alternative. You have till July 1 to get all this done. I am not sure whether you will have the quick and easy option of importing your blogs from Google Reader after that date. As a precaution, make sure that you get all of your information using Google Takeout. That way, if you decide later to use something like NetVibes, all you will have to do is import the Reader OPML file to get all that info into your next reader.
There is still so much information. I found these two articles to be incredibly helpful in my "research" to find the next great reader.
I hope you found this helpful! Just be sure not to wait till the last minute!
I'm in the panicking stage still. I'll probably go to Blog Lovin, but the thought of trying to figure something out again makes my head spin. I'm not good with that sort of stuff. I do wonder if there's any way to switch all my followers/readers to another reader. Great post and very informative! Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteSunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf
I think you will be amazed at how easy it will be. Just take the plunge and go to Bloglovin' and start figuring it out. If you mastered Google Reader, you should be golden. And unfortunately I am pretty sure that the readers will have to take the steps themselves. That's why it's good to put the options in front of them!
DeleteI just lurv how cute this is.
ReplyDeleteLOL exactly what is cute?
DeleteI just lurv how cute this is.
ReplyDeleteJust a follow up on Bloglovin - they have an App now! It was my front-runner over Feedly when I found out about the demise of Google Reader, but I was in desperate need of an App ( I access my feeds mostly on the go). When I found out they had come out with one, I immediately made the switch. And I love it!
ReplyDeleteIf you do happen to switch to Bloglovin, look me up @ http://www.bloglovin.com/rewonderland
P.S. I saw this post through Bloglovin because I support Simply Books! :-)
Deirdra I'm currently trialling both Feedly and BlogLovin. I prefer Feedly's interface and look but BlogLovin is so much easier to find blogs, e.g.. I can actually press "Follow in BlogLovin" on someone's blog and it'll take me directly, whereas Feedly is not even mentioned yet on Feed Reader :( So when I press subscribe via RSS that option isn't listed, so you have to search for a blog within Feedly.
ReplyDeleteI'm really hoping to be able to decide soon :(
Which are you leaning towards?