If you're slightly confused by the title, fear not as that's describing the rather odd situation RSS fans have found themselves in. Google has announced that its popular (actually, industry leading) Reader service will be closing soon. It comes as no surprise that many Windows Phone consumers have wondered what will happen to Google Reader (and general RSS) apps that are already available on the store.
It's emerging that developers are working on ways to keep services live and to provide updates to such apps to better serve consumers. This is a win-win situation, folks.
From July 1st, Google Reader will be no more, but the developer of Nextgen Reader has stated in a blog article that they've been pleasantly surprised by the sheer volume of emails and messages the team has received from consumers. They're pleased to announce that Nextgen Reader for both Windows and Windows Phone will continue to work and the team is already looking into alternatives:
- Self-hosted on Windows Azure
- Newsblur support
- Normandy - Feedly support
The team expects to have more information on a potential move later this month. But they're not alone. The developer of NewsSpot has also revealed plans to keep the RSS fire alight with alternatives. The team is looking forward to companies launching new services that pick up from where Google left off. They too will announce more in the near future. There's light at the end of the tunnel at least.
It's long been suspected that Google will cut loose RSS from its product line, especially with Feedburner laying dormant and slowly, but surely falling apart. Will the closure of Google Reader be the end of RSS as we know it? Not at all. There's the likes of Twitter that helps keep one informed of what's currently going on, so RSS has undoubtedly lost some use, but there's always room for good ol' fashioned website feed browsing.
Source: Next Matters, FourSpotProject; thanks, aaa6112, for the heads up!
