Don’t let change leave you behind! Google Reader retires in July, here are alternatives and oh look… food!

Hello everyone!

Here’s a quick blog housekeeping notice. If you have been using Google Reader as your RSS or Feed Reader of choice then you may be aware that GReader is shutting down on 1 July 2013. That’s just about a week away.

So, I know many of you may be aware of this but may have overlooked the deadline. I didn’t want you to get left behind when July 1st rolls around and you stop getting MWS updates! So just very quickly, here are some options you have that I’ve tried and what I think of them. If this isn’t something that concerns you, there’s some food at the end of it haha! 😛

Alright, here are the options you have to Google Reader if you use RSS feeds.

• Old Reader – This is the one I personally use because it looks most similar to Google Reader in terms of format. The only thing I should note is that its updates aren’t instantaneous. So, although I publish my posts at 8.30am everyday, it only shows up in my Old Reader feed in the late afternoon. Ditto for everyone’s posts so it means I read posts a little late but I’m ok with it. 
• Bloglovin – Tried it for a while many years ago but didn’t like the pictorial format. But if you use photos as a guide whether to read a post then this might be for you.
• Feedly – Tried it for a while but didn’t like it because I found it too fiddly. Fiddly. Geddit? 😛 Again, it works best if you use pictures as a guide to reading your blogs, and it has funky magazine style themes so you can set it up how you wish. Fiddly 😛
• Imotiv – this one I have never used but I notice a fair bit of traffic coming in from there. I believe its more of a mobile blog reader instead of being desktop based but do correct me if I’m wrong.

If you don’t want to resubscribe to your hundreds of blog feeds, please see Tine’s very handy guide to zipping up your feed subscriptions in Google Reader and then importing them to your new feed reader of choice.

If you don’t use a feed reader… none of this affects you does it? 😀

If you want to resist change (you do realise that resistance is futile?) you can still find me on these platforms :-

• Facebook – Usually some quick updates about whatever there is to update on that may not make its way to the blog
• Twitter – Ruminating in 140 characters on whatever irks/thrills/amuses/pisses me off for the day 😉
• Instagram – A daily photo that I try to relate to beauty but what the hey, its my pictorial view on the world

I could go all ballistic at Google pulling the plug on Google Reader but its what they do apparently. Kill things at whim or screw up algorithms so spammers get to rule the day. I am still using Feedburner but I don’t know how long it’ll be till Google pulls the plug on that one. But yeah, email updates are still available until further notice….

So on that note, I leave you with some tantalizing pictures of food that I had at the Majestic Hotel a month or so ago. I was there for a product launch and we were feted to a lovely lunch. It was my first time in there and I think they have done a great job at restoring the very historic hotel which has featured a lot in the history of Malaya/Malaysia 🙂

What platform are you using to read your blog feeds?

Now quick, if you haven’t done so, go and pick your new feed reader! 😀 Don’t get left behind! 😉

Enjoy the weekend!

Paris B