Monday 24 August 2015

How RSS reader Feedley emerged as true winner as Google Reader died


The concept of RSS readers appeal to all- you have a single platform to store the content you like over the net from different website, news sites, blogs and YouTube etc. which you can browse or share or keep for future reference. The market was ruled by Google with its Reader.

 So we all know Google discontinued its Google Reader in July 2013 as part of its corporate structuring started in 2011 cleaning it of 70 loss making products. The move made absolute sense- Reader did have a loyal following but with competition like facebook posts, it was losing popularity. Also to be frank, the product was under invested as Google's focus was on developing and promoting other products like Google+ Never the less, Reader's death was Feedley's gain as it emerged as the best alternative RSS reader. Credit for same goes to its better functionality owing to beautiful magazine style image centric design. This aspect makes the user experience definitely better with the added benefit that in the world of touch screen tablets and phones, it is not lost. Feedley grabbed the opportunity with both hands and announced hassle free migration for existing Reader users with their Google login. With a single click the entire account of user is moved to Feedley and arranged into folders and sub folders. Feedley added functionalities like Must read section, headlines only and investing in state of art API capabilities to be the best at the game.

It gained whopping 12 Mn new users in 2 months into the announcement of Reader's , such was the impact of these measures taken by Feedley. It kept improvising with time and now has extended the log in facility from just Google account to Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft & Importing OPML along with providing personalized experience to user. It has become popular with apps for phones and tablets, also offering integration with Pocket, Inst paper and Ever note.


Thus gradually, Freedley has carved a strong place for itself in this niche RSS reader market, a place left willingly by Google to focus on other lucrative fronts.