Google Reader Gets an Update, Kinda Sucks
Note from 2022 Rachel: STOP COMPLAINING THEY WILL TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU
So listen, Google Reader:
I know you want to stay current with the times, and make sure you look like all the other Google sites, and a whole bunch of other "good ideas"; but if you’re going to do an update, there are some important things you have to remember. I’ve written them out for you, in handy list form, so you know for next time.
- Your update has to be functional and beneficial to the user, as well as look nice. We all like white-space, and big buttons, and I actually am a fan of the new black/grey/red/blue Google colour scheme. But when I can’t see clear separation between content items, or between my content and the side column, my brain gets frustrated. I know that when you click on the item you’re currently reading, a handy little box forms around it. I want that box all the time. I want complete borders around every article, so that each item is separate and defined_,_ not frolicking free in white-space land. Why did you think I wanted these borders to go away? Making the borders impermanent makes my eyes jump from item to item in a distracting, attention-deficit kind of way, if I should happen to forget to click before reading. (Yes, there is a foot-bar that separates each article, but its soft lines and gradients-of-grey shading do not help my eyes stick to what I’m trying to read; I still end up distracted by the wasteland of border-less white-space. And while we’re on the subject, why did you make my post titles this bland, grey colour? Why would you think it would be easier to read something if the title of the article didn’t stand out?)
- Your update has to add desired features, or fix broken ones, not take well-liked features away. I can understand replacing your "like" smiley-face button with the +1. "Like" is now nearly synonymous with "Facebook", and you’re trying to make the +1 as ubiquitous as that blue thumbs-up. Believe me, I get it; we all want to conquer the Internet. But why would you take away a well liked, oft-used feature with a strong community? Ditching your "share/shared items" feature has alienated your core audience: the original users of Google Reader, people who have spent time and effort cultivating a small but interested group of like-minded content-hunters. People who look forward to being exposed to articles and feeds they wouldn’t see otherwise. People who don’t want to rely on the overly social environments of Facebook or Twitter to find new and interesting items to read. This was your biggest misstep, Google Reader. We don’t want you to integrate with Google Plus because we don’t want to use Google Plus, at least not for this purpose. We don’t want to share things to our "walls", or "profiles", or what have you. We don’t want to pass that nerdyQuantum Levitation article on to everyone we know. We want to quietly click "share" at the bottom of that article and have it unobtrusively offer itself to the five, or ten, or fifty people we know who have shown express interest in reading the things we read, in the medium that we read them. We want our friends’ shared articles to appear as unread content in our sidebars, so that they’re there, like a treat, on the site we’re already using. We do not want to be forced to use another site to share content, Google Reader. There are already multiple external sites that we use when we want to reach a wide audience. We liked the exclusivity, the closeness, the convenience, the built in ease of our Google Reader Shared Community. If we didn’t, we’d browse the web like the rest of the Internet, and post our articles to Facebook or Tumblr or Blogger or Twitter or Wordpress or… you get the picture. Which brings me to my final point:
- No one uses Google Plus. As a documented fan of the idea, it pains me to admit it, but it’s just not working. Even though it’s cleverly built right into sites I use every day, I can go weeks without looking at my Google Plus profile, or checking in with my "circles". I have never had a "hangout", and I don’t want to. Frankly, the only reason I even remember I have a Google Plus profile is because of those little notifications in the Google TopBar*, telling me that more people I don’t know have added me to their "Circles". Clicking "ignore all" on those notifications is literally the only interaction I’ve had with Google Plus for the past two weeks, and ostensibly I’m your target market. No one likes failure, and I understand the huge desire Google must have to see Plus succeed. But forcing people to use your service is never the road to success, especially when you’re forcing people to use your service by taking away something they actually like and use. Removing a social service that people enjoy in order to force them to use something they hate seems, frankly, ass-backwards.
As a devoted fan and long time user, Google Reader, I urge you to keep these three simple facts in mind before any and all future redesigns. I also urge you to take a good hard look at how people use your service, and why, before you go making changes. And if you really want to get rid of a feature, ditch "sort by magic". No one uses that.
Ed. Note: It has been brought to my attention that the Google TopBar is actually called the "OneGoogle Bar". What’s more, there is apparently a way to share your Google Reader items with your Google Plus circles from the OneGoogle bar. File this under "knowledge I didn’t have, and will not use".
Posted on November 1, 2011
Posted on November 1st, 2011
No Fans of Web 2.0 Here
I just want to acknowledge @"tehawesome’s amazing answer to my query about wtf is going on with Google Reader. I asked"Why are there no borders anywhere on this goddamn new layout"? To which they replied:
"Because it’s different and open, like an absurd new-age elementary school. No borders, no walls, man! Everybody gets a crocodile in Spelling."
Congrats, @tehawesome. You get today’s Laugh Out Loud reward of the day. Your prize was my actually laughing out loud, which you couldn’t hear.
Posted on November 1, 2011
Posted on November 1st, 2011
Google Dictionary
Okay, what? Google, why did you shut down a service that I actually use every day? What is UP? Is today, like, bad decisions Tuesday, or something?
Note from 2022 Rachel: JUST WAIT TIL THEY SHUT DOWN GOOGLE READER
Posted on November 1, 2011
Posted on November 1st, 2011
White Space
I know I’ve talked about this a lot today but… Why? Just… why? Why are there no borders anywhere?
Posted on November 1, 2011
Posted on November 1st, 2011
In a few weeks we’ll be retiring Google Buzz.
In a few weeks we’ll be retiring Google Buzz. At that time you won’t be able to create any new posts, but your existing content will remain accessible in two ways:
- You can view it on your Google Profile
- You can download it using Google Takeout
Thank you for using Google Buzz.
Google Support (Was there anyone else who noticed this?)
Posted on November 1, 2011
Posted on November 1st, 2011
Puppies
OH MY GOD I CAN’T DECIDE! They both look so good with George Clooney.
Who’s cuter, Ryan or a Puppy?
Reblog your choice
Source: ryangoslingvspuppy
Note from 2022 Rachel: Unfortunately the pictures did not survive the transition to new web
Posted on October 31, 2011
Posted on October 31st, 2011
Morning People
What is the desire, the need, to make others aware of their Morning Person status? There is no doubt in my mind that the inspiration for all the various statuses and tweets along the lines of: "What a beautiful morning, a nice hour of yoga and I’m so ready to attack today! #GettinThatWormBro" is simply to make the rest of us feel bad as we stand, comatose, in front of our coffee machines. I hate you, social networking-capable morning person. You are the worst part of waking up. You are the Anti-Folgers.
Posted on October 11, 2011
Posted on October 11th, 2011
Facebook Is Terrible
"Our solution was to create a new place that’s lighter-weight where you can see lighter-weight stuff—that’s how we came up with Ticker." If you translate "lighter-weight" to boring, you’ll understand what Zuckerberg is saying: Facebook now has a place on its site reserved especially for boring updates.
Posted on September 23, 2011
Posted on September 23rd, 2011
I guess it’s 20 years old now
Flap Flap Flapping my Albatross wings!
More Clone High. (Also I just realized that this show was made in 2002, which means it’s already 8 years old.)
Posted on September 11, 2010
Posted on September 12th, 2011
Bead Deals
me: omg Adam. i just got a Groupon.
Adam: ? FOR?
me: for $10 OFF… a BEADING CLASS… OR BEADING SUPPLIES
Adam: BEST
me: AT BEAD GIRL ON LINE
Adam: YES
me: BEAD GIRL ONLINE
Adam: LET’S SPEND $10 MORE ON BEADS THAN WE NORMALLY WOULD AND NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT
Posted on August 24, 2011
Posted on August 24th, 2011