@mackcollier @evrenk – the newsletter gives me 10x more response than the blog on asks and requests. By volume not %.
— Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) March 12, 2013
A few days ago the news came out that Google will be pulling the plug on its beloved Google Reader service on July 1st. Google Reader is a free service that many bloggers use to keep up with their favorite blogs. I also use it to subscribe to numerous vanity searches as well as keyword phrases, etc.
My first thought was that man, this is going to suck, how will I find a decent alternative so I can read and stay up to date on my favorite blogs?
Then I quickly had my second thought: What does Google Reader going away mean for me as a blogger and how will it impact my ability to reach my readers? If FeedBurner is to be believed, about 2,000 people a day access this blog via Google Reader. So when Reader shuts down, that suddenly means those 2,000 people won’t be reading my new posts anymore! They’ll have to either switch to another reader, or they could come here and subscribe to the email version of this blog, or start checking the blog manually. The bottom line is that I am going to lose some readers. We all will.
Oh and BTW, if Google will pull the plug on Google Reader, that probably means FeedBurner is next. What these two moves together mean is that suddenly bloggers have lost a LOT of control over how they distribute their content to their readers.
I cannot help but wonder if this is part of the reason why there seems to be a renewed interest among many top bloggers for encouraging readers to subscribe to their email newsletters. Hell Chris Brogan’s recent site redesign all but puts the entire focus on encouraging email subscribers.
A big reason why I’ve always preferred blogs over other social media tools like Twitter and Facebook is that you have more control over the content you create. But with tools like Google Reader and Feedburner, Google controls how people receive your content. I think part of the reason for the move to email newsletters is that bloggers want to take back some of the control over how their content is delivered to their readers, and wants more a direct contact/feedback channel with them. Something that RSS subscriptions have never offered.
What does Google Reader being discontinued mean for you as a blogger and a blog reader? What other options will you investigate? Feedly was a popular alternative offered last night at #Blogchat, have you used it?
There’s a definitely a need for bloggers to reconsider the method they use to distribute their content as RSS seems to be used less and less. I’ve personally moved much more over to social media recently, but email has and always will be one of the main ways to build and reach an audience.
Hey Marko thanks for checking into the discussion on #blogchat as well. I am torn on this issue. From the reader’s POV, I can see the idea of giving the reader as many options as possible to share your content. But from the blogger’s POV, I wonder if maybe it makes more sense to offer fewer ways to distribute and share your content, and make those channels you choose be ones that you have more control over, and are more active on.
I think there’s a balance that needs to be struck, but I’m seeing too many big bloggers devoting more time to reaching people via email, even moreso than their blog. Something is up 😉
My take on this is that if the Reader user was an active one, they they’ll likely bite the bullet, find an alternative, maybe have a tidy up of feeds and migrate. People who rarely used Reader may let it slide altogether OR have a big purge of feeds they follow.
If someone is working a method, email for example, and they are reaching their goals, then that’s job done, more or different channels may or may not help. I’m seeing a return to “the list” from many ppl. I still value email and if I choose to “let someone in” then I must really rate what they are about and therefore I’ll be more closely connected as opposed to often looser connections on fb, twitter.
Mike I think those ‘looser connections’ are something many of us are trying to get away from on social media in general. I think as the SM tools mature, how we use them is maturing too, and while it might have been fun to ‘collect’ followers and ‘friends’, now I think many of us are realizing the value of actual connections with fewer people, versus being loosely connected to many strangers. At least that’s where my head is at lately.
My theory is that the Google is turning the attention to themselves through the information of turning off the Reader. If they were to turn it off, they would notify the users 1 month earlier, not 3 months earlier.
By saying that it will be turned off, the Google Reader gains value as a perishable good, and other people start using it with more passion, knowing that it won’t exist one day.
I consider that it is just a marketing flick, but the truth is known only by Google. It’s just my presumption, so don’t take my word seriously.
Read a few posts on this.. it matters but isn’t the end of blogging. It’s a technical thing, we’ll find other ways to use feeds, manage subscriptions.
I’m one of those who kept adding and adding to my Reader, then rarely used it. Like you I’m wanting maybe fewer, stronger connections rather than tons of meaningless ones. So I’ll probably do a port-and-purge, take my subscriptions to an alternative. And ala your blogchat w/ Chris Brogan et al., step up my email promotion. Had already been giving thought to curating a monthly newsletter, this is just another reason why. FWIW.
Great topic for discussion Mack, I think there is a bit of a catch 22 with an either or mentality. You need wide distribution to have a better chance of being found, but once your found you want to have a way to hold onto and maintain that reader. As someone who reads a lot of blogs I love the aggregators like Google Reader and Feedly they allow me to “skim” articles for those that grab my attention. If I am getting e-mail updates, I might be lost from many bloggers because I might only relate to 1 out of 4 or more articles. The aggregate sites give me a simple way to look at quick snipits for a bunch of articles. In the long run if you write good content, and your speaking to me, you’ll get read, and even if I only connect with 1 in 4 articles, I will keep you on a list where I might have unsubscribed from a newsletter after 3 misses.
Hey Mac,
I think that the demise of Google Reader is a good thing. It will open the gates for innovation, which hasn’t been there forever.
As far as email subcriptions, I get so many of them in my inbox I often just delete them. Using a service like Feedly (and others), allows me to view “your” content when I WANT TO, not when I’m forced to to get it out of my inbox.
Also Feedly imports your Google Reader content so everything SHOULD be okay.
BTW, I’ve added you to my Feedly account so you’re not losing me as a subscriber. 😀
Thanks Seth! I am definitely going to have to check out Feedly. Too many smart people I know and admire are saying it’s the way to go.
Google Reader is my main way to sort the news that I comment on for social media like Twitter and LinkedIn. Losing Google Reader means I have to find another way to get the RSS feeds I want that help me to listen to the channels and influencers that I care about — and write about.
I chose Google Reader because it was (at the time) the easiest RSS tool I could find. Now I need something as simple. If anyone has suggestions, it would be great.