| Developer(s) | |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2005 |
| Platform | Web browsers |
| Type | RSS feed reader |
| Website | http://reader.google.com/ |
Google Reader is a Web-based aggregator, capable of reading Atom and RSS feeds online or offline. It was released by Google on October 7, 2005 through Google Labs. Reader was graduated from beta status on September 17, 2007.[1]
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Google made major revisions to Reader's user-interface on September 28, 2006. Product manager Nick Baum described the redesign as a movement toward making news aggregation something for the general public to enjoy. Kevin Fox, the designer of the revised Google Reader, noted that the original version was optimal for those who want to read a "river" of news. The new version took into account that most readers segment their reading by feed, group, tag, folder, or into "must read" and "maybe if I get to it" feeds.[2]
Features of Google Reader as of 2010[update] include:
Part of the visual redesign of all Google products in 2011[4][5], a new Google Reader interface was available on October 31, 2011. Beside the sweeping visual changes, former social features ("share" and "like" buttons) has been removed and replaced by Google+'s +1 button and the "share on Google+" box. It's said that now Reader is on its fourth social model, after using Google Talk contacts, allowing people to manage friends from the Reader interface, integrating with Google Buzz and then with Google+.[6][7] The changes have been received unfavorably by multiple online blogs and technical writers, including former Google Reader product manager Brian Shih[8] and former Google Reader lead designer Kevin Fox,[9] and by writers in Wired,[10] Forbes,[11] CNET,[12] and InformationWeek.[13]. Over 15,000 users have signed an online petition asking Google to reinstate the original interface[14].
Users can subscribe to feeds using either Google Reader's search function, or by entering in the exact URL of the RSS or Atom feed. New posts from those feeds are then shown on the left-hand side of the screen. One can then order that list by date or relevance. Items can also be organized with labels, as well as being able to create "Starred Items" for easy access.
From 2007 to 2011, items in Google Reader could be shared with other Web users. Previously this was done by sending a link through e-mail, directing the user to the shared article; or by creating a basic webpage that includes all shared items from a user's account. In December 2007, Google changed the sharing policy so that items the user marked as shared were automatically visible to their Google Talk contacts.[15] Users criticized this change because there is no way to opt out.[16] The URL for a user's page of shared items contains a random string, and Google originally advertised this as a way to limit sharing to only those people to whom you give the address.
Google removed the sharing functionality built into Reader on October 31, 2011, and replaced it with a Google+ +1 button.[17] Users criticized this change because it effectively dismantled existing social networks that had formed around these features and disabled sharing and publishing functions that served as a communications medium for Iranians seeking news sources that couldn't be blocked by the government.[18]
Google Reader was the first application to make use of Google Gears, a browser extension that lets online applications work offline. Users who have installed the extension can download up to 2000 items to be read offline. After coming back online, Google Reader updates the feeds. Google Reader stopped supporting this feature on June 1, 2010.[19]
A mobile interface was released[20] on May 18, 2006, and is accessible at www.google.com/reader/m/view. It now can be used by devices that support XHTML or WAP 2.0. On May 12, 2008, Google announced a version of Google Reader targeted at iPhone users. It can be found at www.google.com/reader/i.[21] In December 2010 Google released a Google Reader app for Android, which is available from the Android Market.[22]
On May 4, 2006, Google released a new feature[23] which enables feeds from Reader to be displayed on iGoogle (formerly Google Personalized Homepage).
Google Reader is included within Mozilla Firefox and SeaMonkey's feed recognition, which can automatically redirect users to Google Reader's Add Subscription screen.
On May 8, 2007, Google created a version of Google Reader specifically formatted for the Wii web-browser.[24]
On March 10, 2010, Google announced[25] and released[26] Google Reader Play. Play presents a slideshow interface which displays popular items one at a time. These items are drawn from assorted sites' feeds, and their appearance in Play is based on the data provided by Reader users' responses, e.g., how many people liked or shared the item. Unlike Google Reader, a Google Account is not required to access Play.
After establishing a (free) Google Account, Google Reader can be accessed online by web browser or offline by news aggregator
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