Google Reader Over and Out

Here’s the announcement on the official Google Reader blog.

I called it in my post last month: RSS Sync Apocalypse Preview.

And I’ve written about Google Reader in Google Reader and Mac/iOS RSS readers that sync in late 2011.

I think this is a good thing for RSS and RSS readers in general — but it’s sure going to hurt RSS reader customers unless people come up with a sync solution quickly.

My preference: somebody would write a sync service — and charge a monthly subscription — and allow any RSS reader to use it.

Other things I’ve written about RSS syncing:

• Idea for alternative RSS syncing system
• Why “Just Store the App Data on Dropbox” won’t work for RSS readers
• How about IMAP for RSS syncing?
• On the benefits of thin-server RSS syncing

Part of my reason for talking about this so often over the years was to encourage people to build a new sync system. Now you don’t need my encouragement. :) But if I can advise in any way, get in touch with me.