GOOGLE READER ALTERNATIVES

The Old Reader was experiencing a surge in traffic 7x what it was used to, and there were more than 14,000 users in the import queue ahead of me. So, needless to say, it was a very slow process and it took 6 days for my feeds to get imported. But I definitely think it was worth the wait.

It’s called “The Old Reader” because it’s just like the old version of Google Reader. The interface looks a lot like Google Reader’s layout, complete with your folders down the left side, a list of stories in the main pane, and fast and easy one-click subscription to new feeds. There are also many of the same keyboard shortcuts as with Google Reader.

Two things I don’t like about The Old Reader are that it didn’t import my starred items from Google Reader, and there’s no option for alphabetizing your feed subscriptions. I know that last point is very nit-picky, but I’m very particular about things being in alphabetical order. Once I did get my feeds imported however, I was very comfortable using it and I didn’t really need a tutorial or anything.

So there you go. If you are a fervent user of Google Reader I would suggest that you start using one of the above alternatives sooner rather than later. Although Google claims Google Reader will be in operation until July 1, I’ve noticed that they have already removed all links to it from the Google dashboard and products page. Why not get started with an alternative now and avoid losing all your feeds in July?

P.S. feedly and bloglovin’ will automatically import your feeds from Google Reader for you. However, you will need to export your feeds yourself in order to import them to The Old Reader.

If you need help exporting your feeds from Google Reader, don’t worry, it’s totally easy. Just sign into Reader and click on “Reader Settings” (located in the drop down menu in the top left corner). Next, click on the “Import/Export” tab. At the bottom of the screen you will see a link that says “Download your data through Takeout.” Click on this link and once Google is done configuring the size of your file, click on the red button that says “Create Archive.” Reader will then create a zip file that you can download by clicking the blue button that says “Download.” Google Takeout will then ask you for your password. Enter your password and the file will be downloaded. Since your feeds are in a zip file you will want to open the zip file and move all the folders inside to your desktop. You can then import the “Subscriptions” XML file.