The end is near. Google just announced it will be retiring Google Reader on July 1, 2013 as a part of their “Spring Cleaning” and due to declined usage. Declined? I use it every day, all day. I check out my feeds there before Twitter. Not to mention the countless iOS and OSX apps that feed off its feeds. Reeder tweeted not to worry it won’t die. RSS has seemed to been thrown in the backseat by Twitter and Facebook and the likes, but it is still widely used. I tried using Twitter for this, but the beauty of RSS was that the feeds all stockpiled there till I went in and marked them as read. With Twitter you have to constantly be in its feed as it flies by (which is what they want) and then if you actually do something else then you have to go back in time to see if missed something good.

I have tried Bloglines, but their UI leaves me wanting. TUAW has released a good list of alternatives.

Here is Google’s official press release:

3/13/2013 04:06:00 PM

We have just announced on the Official Google Blog that we will soon retire Google Reader (the actual date is July 1, 2013). We know Reader has a devoted following who will be very sad to see it go. We’re sad too.

There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.

To ensure a smooth transition, we’re providing a three-month sunset period so you have sufficient time to find an alternative feed-reading solution. If you want to retain your Reader data, including subscriptions, you can do so through Google Takeout.
Thank you again for using Reader as your RSS platform.

They have also issued instructions on how to export your data for another reader:

[You can] download a copy of all your Reader data before then, you can do so through Google Takeout. You’ll receive your subscription data in an XML file, and the following information will be downloaded as JSON files:

• List of people that you follow
• List of people that follow you
• Items you have starred
• Items you have liked
• Items you have shared
• Items shared by people you follow
• Notes you have created
• Items with comments

Click here to start downloading your Reader data from Takeout. Once downloaded, your subscription data should be easily transferrable to another product, where you can continue to keep up with your online reading.

Update: 3-14-13 Digg says it is building a replacement reader.