Google killed Reader in 2013 — and killed the RSS ecosystem with it

Google Reader launched on October 7, 2005, as an RSS and Atom feed aggregator. It allowed users to subscribe to websites and blogs and read their updates in a single interface. For millions of users, Reader was the central hub of their internet consumption — the tool that made the open, distributed web navigable.

On March 13, 2013, Google announced it would shut down Reader on July 1, 2013, citing a 'loyal but declining' user base and a desire to focus on fewer products. The backlash was immediate and enormous. A Change.org petition gathered over 100,000 signatures. Feedly gained 500,000 new users in 48 hours and 3 million within two weeks. NewsBlur grew from 1,500 to 60,000 subscribers. Digg rushed to build a replacement.

The shutdown had lasting consequences. Without Reader, the RSS ecosystem lost its central distribution point. Blog readership declined, and many publishers shifted to platform-dependent distribution on Facebook, Twitter, and newsletters. Techdirt later called it 'one of the defining moments in the shift from a more distributed, independent web to one controlled by a few large companies.'