The Feed Reading Playground Is Now Open

Google used this many times last year: "the playground is open". That's one of the most important things about Android: it's open source and any company can use it. One of the definitions of "open" is "accessible to all, unrestricted as to participants".

The playground for feed readers is now open. Google Reader's demise levels the playing field in the feed reading world. Now there are more competitors, there's more innovation, there are new platforms for distributing feeds, new interfaces. Suddenly, feed readers are a hot topic. Until now, Google Reader was the dominant service and platform, but Google didn't know what to do with it. Google Reader stopped adding new features back in 2010 and it was in maintenance mode ever since then. Few dared to challenge its position and most new feed readers were only Google Reader clients.

Google Reader's disappearance is Google's best idea for saving RSS. From stagnant to vibrant in 3 months - Google Reader's demise helped RSS more than the last 3 years of silence. The playground is now open.

And for those who are sad that Reader will soon be gone - don't worry, there's a bit of Google Reader in any feed reader that has launched in the past 3-4 years or will launch in the near future. Maybe it's time to get a better Reader, even if not from Google...