Internet Outraged Over Plans to Sunset Google Reader

By Gilbert Falso :: 9:03 PM

Earlier this evening, Google announced on their blog that they would be discontinuing a number of products because they were outside of their core business focus area. One of those products was Google Reader, a web-based RSS reader.

We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.

Google Reader users took to Twitter in droves shortly after the announcement was made, voicing their displeasure with the search giant’s plans to shutter their beloved RSS reader platform.

Within just a few hours, a number of petitions have been created, and websites set up dedicated to saving the Reader platform.

One such petition was started by Daniel Lewis, Director of New Media Communications at Sesame Street, who uses the service daily. “It’s still a core part of my Internet use. And of the many, many others who are signed below,” he writes on the petition summary. As of 9 PM, the petition has amassed some 920 signatures – up from just 500 in a half hour.

An added bonus – this GIF of a priceless reaction to the loss of Google Reader.