The Death of Google Reader

google-reader
Sad news today for those of us still using Google Reader to stay up to date with a range of blogs and news websites. Google’s killing it off on the 1st of July.

We have just announced on the Official Google Blog that we will soon retire Google Reader (the actual date is July 1, 2013). We know Reader has a devoted following who will be very sad to see it go. We’re sad too.

There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.

There’s already a website dedicated to saving Google Reader.

I don’t think it’s the death of RSS but it will change how it’s used.

Lifehacker has already posted The Best Google Reader Alternatives but I guess that with fewer people using RSS aggregators of any kind to read content we need to look at other ways of staying up to date.

If you’re looking for other ways to stay in touch with what’s happening here at RodneyOlsen.net, maybe you’d like to use my Facebook Page. If you ‘like’ the page you’ll see whenever I post something in your own Facebook timeline.

You could also follow me on Twitter. Along with other tweets you’ll be able to see links to new posts as they are published.

Are you, like me, one of the dying breed of Google Reader users? What do you intend to do from here? Find another service or start relying on social media to stay in touch?



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Reading RodneyOlsen.net made easy

feed-icon.pngDon’t you love it when you find ways to save time and simplify tasks? Isn’t it even better when it’s free?

Hopefully I can simplify the way you read this blog.

Did you know that you can read RodneyOlsen.net via email each day? Instead of having to visit my blog each day, it can visit you. Just click here, enter your email address, and you’ll never miss a post. You’ll get one email a day with anything I’ve posted on that day. It’s completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time so why not give it a go?

There’s also a link to subscribe to my RSS feed at the top of my right hand sidebar which makes updating easy if you read blogs through Bloglines, Google Reader, Yahoo, NewsGator, MSN or any other service. If you haven’t heard of RSS, Atom or site feeds before you can check out this article at Wikipedia for more information. Basically feeds make it a lot easier to read blogs and other information sources. If you read even a handful of blogs a day you can save a lot of time through feeds.

Can I encourage you to use one of these methods to get your free updates from RodneyOlsen.net? I’d love you to be part of the community that is continuing to grow here and I want to make it as easy as possible for you to stay in touch with every post.

Whichever way you choose to read my blog let me say thank you for doing so. I truly appreciate the fact that you take the time to read my random thoughts and participate in the conversation through your comments.



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Simple ways to stay in touch

feed-icon.pngDon’t you love it when you find ways to save time and simplify tasks? Isn’t it even better when it’s free?

Hopefully I can simplify the way you read this blog.

Did you know that you can read RodneyOlsen.net via email each day through FeedBlitz? Instead of having to visit my blog each day, it can visit you. Just click here, enter your email address, and you’ll never miss a post. You’ll get one email a day with anything I’ve posted on that day. It’s completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time so why not give it a go?

There’s also an orange button at the top of the right hand sidebar which makes updating easy if you read blogs through Bloglines, Google Reader, Yahoo, NewsGator, MSN or any other service. If you haven’t heard of RSS, Atom or site feeds before you can check out this article at Wikipedia for more information. Basically feeds make it a lot easier to read blogs and other information sources. If you read even a handful of blogs a day you can save a lot of time through feeds.

Can I encourage you to use one of these methods to get your free updates from RodneyOlsen.net? I’d love you to be part of the community that is continuing to grow here and I want to make it as easy as possible for you to stay in touch with every post.

Whichever way you choose to read my blog let me say thank you for doing so. I truly appreciate the fact that you take the time to read my random thoughts and participate in the conversation through your comments.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Simple ways to stay in touch? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Five Years of Blogging

birthday_candles.jpgFive years ago today I started blogging.

The first time I ever heard of blogging I thought, “What a stupid idea. Why would you want to share all your most personal thoughts with a bunch of complete strangers?”

Since that time a couple of things have happened. Firstly, I realised that I only had to share what I decided I wanted to share, and secondly, a lot of those ‘complete strangers’ have become good friends, even though I’ve never met many of them face to face.

I’ve really enjoyed the ups and downs of blogging and what you see now is rather different than the original post back on the 3rd of November 2003. I hope you enjoy what you read here and that you’ll stay with me as I enter my sixth year of blogging.

If you’re looking to help me celebrate my five year blogaversary there are a few things you might like to do.

  • I would really appreciate it if you added me to your blogroll or linked to any of my posts that you enjoy.
  • You can get free updates of RodneyOlsen.net by adding your email address to the box in the top of the right hand sidebar or by subscribing to the RSS feed.
  • If you’re a StumbleUpon user you might like to Stumble a post or two. (Of course you’re welcome to do that at anytime.)
  • You may also choose to make this blog one of yourTechnorati Favourites.

On my blogaversary over the last couple of years I’ve opened the blog up for questions. I reckon it’s time to give it another go.

Most days of the week my job involves asking a number of different people to tell me more about themselves. I normally sit behind a microphone and ask others to tell me all sorts of things. It’s very safe being the one asking the questions. It’s not always quite so easy being the one on the other end of the questions.

So, are there any questions you want to ask me? Is there something you’ve been wondering about? Is there a particular subject you’d like me to post about? It can be about blogging, radio, cycling or whatever else you choose to ask about.

What do you want to know? Just leave a question or post topic in the comments below and I’ll see what I can do to respond. No promises but I’ll give it a shot.



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Free Blog Updates

feed-icon.pngDon’t you love it when you find ways to save time and simplify tasks? Isn’t it even better when it’s free?

Hopefully I can simplify the way you read this blog.

Did you know that you can read RodneyOlsen.net via email each day through FeedBlitz? Instead of having to visit my blog each day, it can visit you. Just click here, enter your email address, and you’ll never miss a post. You’ll get one email a day with anything I’ve posted on that day. It’s completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time so why not give it a go?

There’s also an orange button at the top of the right hand sidebar which makes updating easy if you read blogs through Bloglines, Google Reader, Yahoo, NewsGator, MSN or any other service. If you haven’t heard of RSS, Atom or site feeds before you can check out this article at Wikipedia for more information. Basically feeds make it a lot easier to read blogs and other information sources. If you read even a handful of blogs a day you can save a lot of time through feeds.

Can I encourage you to use one of these methods to get your free updates from RodneyOlsen.net? I’d love you to be part of the community that is continuing to grow here and I want to make it as easy as possible for you to stay in touch with every post.

Whichever way you choose to read my blog let me say thank you for doing so. I truly appreciate the fact that you take the time to read my random thoughts and participate in the conversation through your comments.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Free Blog Updates? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.