I’m the kind of girl who forms unhealthy relationships with television characters. I don’t hide it; it says so right in my bio. Only, if we’re being honest, sometimes it’s not just fake people I’m forming life-long connections with. It’s a brand of chocolate. Or a car. Or, in this case, an RSS reader that’s gotten me through search changes, job changes, life changes and everything in between. Change is hard for everyone but, for me, the girl who gets attached with her whole and complete heart? It’s damn near impossible.
I remember the day I started dating my Google Reader. I was coming off a nasty break up. My heart had just been smashed, my friends stolen and I had to start anew. If you’ve ever been through such a devastating heartache you know the things that shake you to your core have a way of making you stronger. You heal tougher and mightier than you were before. Something about the act of having to stand on your own two feet again and declaring to the world, “Hey! I’m not dead yet!”
That’s what my relationship with Google Reader was built on.
Google Reader was everything my former love was not. It was reliable. It responded even when offline. It was like Tivo for the Web. It was sexy. But like many great loves, this too will see its end far sooner than I am ready.
As you probably read months ago, Google Reader will be no more as of Monday, July 1.
Gone.
Dead.
Kaput.
The service is being ripped from us retiring. Since the March announcement there have been plenty of posts outlining Google Reader alternatives (Lifehacker, MarketingLand, CNN, DuctTapeMarketing), all designed to help users cope with Google Reader’s death and move on, even as more than 100,000 users have fought to hold onto it. And there are admittedly some great options.
Like Feedly.
Or CommaFeed.
Or The Old Reader.
Or Twitter.
But here it is, June 28, my birthday of all days, and I have yet to pick one.
It’s not that I’m procrastinating or that I haven’t been thinking about it. I have. Non-stop. , it’s just that saying goodbye to an old friend, someone who has been there for you and kept you informed up-to-the-minute informed, well, it sucks. And perhaps I’ve been in just a bit of denial. But that needs to end.
Today, I will adopt a new feed reader. I have to.
Monday will be a dark, confusing day for many of us. We will hit our Google Reader bookmark and be saddened when nothing loads. We will know the error is not truly ours, but Google’s for taking away our beloved RSS.
To my Google Reader, thank you.
Thank you for keeping me company late at night and early in the morning. For bearing the load, with or without Internet connection. For delivering both the giggles and the insight without judgment. For showing me that sometimes a relationship could just be love, not love-hate (you suck, Bloglines).
It’s the end of an era and you will be missed.
Yours always (or at least until July 1),
Lisa
With Google Reader going kaput, who are you entrusting to guard your feeds…and your heart?
