This morning I woke up to the announcement that Google will be powering down Google Reader, which has long been my RSS reader of choice. RSS feeds crucial to me because it is where I follow numerous science-related blogs, read automated PubMed searches, and receive tables of content from selected journals.
When I recently bought an iPad Mini, however, I discovered to my surprise that there was no Google Reader app for iPad. This made me strongly suspect that Google had no plans to continue Google Reader. It also made me discover Feedly, which turned out to be so good that I preferred reading my RSS feeds on the iPad as opposed to on my computer. I have now installed Feedly for Chrome as well as the Android applet on my phone, so I consider myself fully migrated already. I think this is a lesson that shows the importance of open standards – whereas RSS feeds are crucial to me, replacing the viewer is no big deal.
Buried Treasure 