Google Reader Is Gone, but There Are Other FIsh in the Sea

If you asked users of online readers what the best RSS feed reader around was, they might tell you that it was the Google RSS reader. The only problem with this is that the Google RSS reader was discontinued earlier in 2013, due to a declining readership and a change in direction on the part of Google. After it was discontinued, thousands of people started scrambling to look for what would be the new best RSS readers.

The Google Reader shutdown was actually so surprising that a petition was created to keep it running, and it had garnered more than 100,000 signatures. Unfortunately, the petition did not work. If you are still looking for a replacement reader, then consider one of these three options.

Chrome RSS Reader

This reader is also known as Feeder, and it is only an extension on Chrome, unless you choose to pay for it and get the “Pro” version. This reader provides a very simple overview of both RSS and Atom feeds in your Chrome toolbar. It takes its inspiration from Firefox and their live bookmarks, which might give you an idea of the kind of functionality this application offers.

Feedly

Once Google Reader officially closed, Feedly saw an influx of approximately 500,000 new users, and three million more after the first 48 hours. One advantage to Feedly is that it aggregates feeds onto your web browser, and is not simply an extension. Feedly provides a customizable and clean layout, which allows you to use your feed much like you would any website. It has intuitive controls, and can run on both iOS and Android.

RSS Bot

RSS Bot was made especially for Mac computers. As a free service, it boasts the ability to check feeds from the menubar, get notifications for new items, filter your feeds, customize notifications, and also create an expiration for your feeds so that they are automatically marked as “Read” after a certain specified time.

If you were one of the Google RSS reader users that was kicked off of the service this past summer, then one of these three readers should be a suitable replacement. The only trick is to try them out, and see for yourself which reader either best replicates the original, or which one has the tools you need to truly take enjoy your RSS feeds.