[efuquen]

Reading the commentary on this I feel like I'm only schlep in the tech industry that didn't use Google Reader. But then I ask my non-tech friends and guess what 90% of them say "Oh, I had some feeds on there from awhile back but I never really read them that often". I wonder if the people who used it are such trendsetters why that is the case ...

[ceol]

That's exactly my situation. I set it up, used it for about a week a long time ago, and never logged into it again.

I think the coolest feature of it was its massive database of RSS feeds. I liked being able to flip through tons of categories and add them. However, it wasn't enough to keep me coming back, and that's probably why Google is discontinuing it.

I wish there was some way to export all those feeds, though.

[anigbrowl]

That's exactly my situation. I set it up, used it for about a week a long time ago, and never logged into it again.

That pretty much describes my relationship with Twitter, and almost none of my friends use Twitter. But I don't think Twitter is any less important for that; likewise, don't let your lack of interest in Reader blind you to the fact that it has high utility for others.

[fraqed]

Google Takeout allows you to get all your data from various Google services https://www.google.com/takeout/

What surprises me most is that Microsoft, which has a severe case of Google envy hasn't created a web based RSS service of it's own. They should make an offer to buy Reader and Feedburner too, since Google seems to have little interest in supporting these products.

[hayksaakian]

Google isn't handing over the reader code any time soon. There's too much overlap with their search algos.

[jsz0]

Reader was basically a power tool for trend setting not a trend itself.