[wuest]

I don't think that Google showing a propensity to give services the axe, rather than simply deprecating them and giving them little or no support is a case of "not satisfying demands." That, mixed with their history of spotty support for the things which they DO officially support gives them the appearance of being a shifting platform. This lead me, at least, to depend on them as little as I have to.

[smokinjoe]

Hey, that's your opinion and I can't call it wrong! Although I strongly feel like Google Reader was by far the most used service they are going to axe. I was pretty upset when Google Notebook was axed, but I just moved my data elsewhere. I don't really expect much with deprecation after that incident because while the service was deprecated, the lack of support/updates just left me never wanting to use it anymore.

If that is the tipping point for you, then by all means show support for alternatives. I know I do a terrible job at ensuring Google isn't the only player in the game.