We all knew it was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier to take. My trusted old friend that has kept me up to date on currrent affairs and other interests, and helped me curate and share with the world, has been consigned to the grave yard in the cloud.

Yes, it has been confirmed Google Reader will be no more from 1st July 2013.

Initial Reactions

As with all change natural instinct is to push back, shout out and make a stand. In the last 24 hours I have been pushing the #OccupyGoogleReader hashtag on Google+ and Twitter. I even signed and promoted the Change.org petition to keep Google Reader running.

Reality Strikes

Then it hit home. Google is likely to have loftier plans, some form of integration with Google+ is likely and Google Reader may exist in a different form. But I have specific needs.

I use Google Reader on a daily basis, I recommend it to my clients, it forms the core of my online course: Building Authority on Twitter. Yes I know, don’t build a business on 3rd party services.

Nonetheless I needed a solution.

Searching For Another Reader

So the search began.

Already alternate feed readers were promising seamless migration, easy import and shouting “we’ll take care of you”!

But I couldn’t just choose any replacement reader, I needed it to integrate with my content curation workflow and the ability to share in a particular way.

The Requirements List

My feed reader must:

• Be Web based
• Add feeds from the browser
• Have customisable share options or
• Integrate with BufferApp
• Have a mobile version

Of course by now there were many lists of alternates appearing around the web, this all in a matter of hours. Lifehacker and Mashable two high profile examples.

Where have you been all my life!

It didn’t take long until I discovered it. The reader of my dreams. And guess what? I had already been using the mobile app version for some time.

Enter Feedly.

The mobile version of Feedly is similar to Zite and Flipboard, which both present feeds in a magazine style format on mobile and tablet. The reason I had started using it was because of it’s direct integration with Bufferapp, making the scheduling and sharing of articles seamless.

I hadn’t even considered the web version as I had been blinded by my affair with Google Reader.

Feedly on the Web

The web interface for Feedly is highly customisable, has many sharing options and like the mobile app integrates with Bufferapp.

Getting feeds to save directly into Feedly rather than Google Reader was easy, thanks to this 3 year old forum topic!

Love at First “Site”

It’s only been a few hours, but I am enjoying my new reading experience. It’s even more seamless than Google Reader. The layout is slicker and it’s drag and drop interface makes it a joy to use.

So goodbye old friend, you have served me well. Your demise, rather than an obstacle, has become an opportunity, and led to my discovery of the news reader I had dreamt of.

For now at least.

If you want to make the switch or even just trial it, moving to Feedly is easy. Just use your Google account to sign in to Feedly and it will automatically populate with all your Google Reader feeds.

Any questions just shout, and I would love to here your experience if you do try Feedly.