Well, for some reason, Google has thrown us all through a loop once again. Google Reader is officially being shutdown as of July 1, this coming Monday. Why would they do such a thing?! No one really knows but all we can do is prepare for the death of an amazing online utility. The convenience of this Google tool will no longer exist, but the show must go on! Here is what to do.
Export Your Data!
If you would like to keep your existing RSS feeds to use on a Google Reader alternative, you will definitely need to export your Google Reader data. This is critical as you likely have hundreds, if not thousands, of RSS feeds that you have gathered over the years. Thankfully, Google makes this process fairly quick and painless, but be sure to do this before Google Reader officially shuts down. Google says you won’t be able to find your Reader data after that! Here is how you download your extensive list of RSS feeds.
- Make your way over to this Google Takeout page. This is the dashboard for where you will obtain your archives.
- Click the red “Create Archive” button. It will then start to “build” your archive.
- When it is finished, go ahead and click the big blue download button! You will now have a zipped file of your Google Reader data. Now What?
Find Your Preferred Google Reader Alternative
Thankfully, there are a ton of alternatives for Google Reader. And they just got a lot of extra users. Some of these RSS readers have even prepared for the influx of users as Google Reader shuts down. Here is a list of some of the best RSS readers that you can use after July 1.
Import Your Feeds
Once you have chosen your new RSS reader, import your data files into the new reader. You will need to unzip your archive and locate the subscriptions.xml file within the Reader folder to import your feeds into your new feed reader. Many of the feeds listed above provide an easy way to do this. Try them out!
What Are My Other Options?
If you want to get away from the web based RSS readers, there are several ways to get your daily news on your desktop. RSS readers like FeedDemon and Reeder are popular desktop versions, and you can even get Microsoft Outlook to send you your RSS feeds as well.
If you want to get away from RSS entirely, consider taking advantage of Twitter. As most of your favorite feeds are published on the company’s twitter account, you can easily follow all of your favorite blogs and websites that you like to read. Google+ can provide this alternative in addition to allowing you to arrange your feeds into different circles, which might be a little more organized than Twitter.
Try some of these out real quick before time is up! But as long as you have your backup of all your RSS feeds, you are set to go!
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