Si Muddell: Goodbye Google Reader, hello Google Plus

It seems like only yesterday that I was explaining RSS to prospective clients, convincing them that this technology was a game changer, and a functionality they must have on their site, to allow people to keep updated with the content on their sites; outside of their site.

So when I woke up yesterday and read the latest marketing headlines about Google reader being dropped, my heart initially sank. I was bleary eyed from the night before and I wrongly read this to mean the death of RSS.

But that of course is just silly talk.

Google has a history of unceremoniously shutting down its products, the most notable one for RSS would be iGoogle that was launched in 2005 and is due to switch off in November 2013. Much like Netvibes or MyYahoo, iGoogle was a great tool to manage all of your RSS feeds and one that I often used.

So now it's Google Reader that is getting the chop; but why?

Goodbye Google Reader, hello Google Plus?

Social networks and apps like Flipboard and Zite obviously play a huge part in the demise of Google Reader usage, however the fact remains that RSS is one of the most popular methods of content distribution and method for the audience to stay connected with multiple webpage content. I really can't see it going away in the near future.

Although Google Plus did integrate with Google Reader, I wouldn't be surprised if a native RSS interface / tool on Google Plus was in the making. Google obviously know this.

Google Plus has really impressed me recently, from the app and general web interface to the functionality, and I am not the only person who thinks this. The problem for me has always been the number of my general friends using it; not many of them relatively speaking.

If last months social platform active user stats by Global Web Index are anything to go by, Google Plus moved into second place, bearing in mind YouTube is a Google product and also in third place.

Be assured that Google have not eased off the gas with Google Plus, with constant product and interface developments (for the better), and rise in active users, Google continue to evolve the social network and just maybe RSS is on their radar.

(Credit: GlobalWebIndex)