Some eight years after the service launched, Google is shutting down its Reader, Marketing Land reports. The news-reading service was “an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites,” Google said in a blog post. “While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader.” Google Reader’s own blog noted sadness over the closure, adding that “as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products.”
At the Atlantic Wire, Adam Clark Estes notes widespread frustration—but says we shouldn’t be surprised. “Google Reader’s been staring death in the face at least since the fall of 2011, when the company shut down the product’s social features,” he writes. Still, users took to Twitter—probably a major factor in Reader’s downfall—to lament. “Google puts the kittens in the blender, prepares to push the button,” tweeted one. Some consolation: Someone will probably make a new Reader alternative soon, Estes predicts.
