The Google Reader Apocalypse is Upon Us. Here's How to Migrate.

Despite much weeping and gnashing of teeth in the online world, Google is unceremoniously killing what many consider to be the best RSS reader on the planet. If you are one of the 300,000+ readers who access Strobist through Google Reader, here are three good choices to keep the party rolling.
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You have about one week to figure out how to exist in a post-Google Reader world. As of next weekend, the lights go out for good. If you depend on Google Reader (as I long have) here are three ways you can get your RSS fix with relatively little pain.


Import Your Feeds to a New Reader

The current best choice for many has been Feedly. Lots of people have already migrated (including yours truly) and they make importing your existing Google Reader feeds very easy.

They have a good app, available in iOS and Android, which I actually prefer to the web interface of Google Reader. But the desktop web interface, while slick, is not as intuitive and lightning fast as is the soon-to-be-dead gold standard Google version.

Working like hell to launch before next weekend (talk about a real deadline) is the new reader from Digg. Just squeaking under the wire, they plan to launch on Wednesday. (Thanks for all the eval time, guys...) But the beta folks who have gotten to test drive Digg's reader early are singing it's praises. So there's hope it'll be great.

Here's my suggestion for a migration strategy: Migrate your feeds to both Feedly and the Digg reader. Install both apps (presuming Digg will have an app here, too) onto your phone.

Use both, and your subconscious will select one for you. You'll just find yourself using the one you like better, automatically. But whichever you choose, it is important to migrate to both by next weekend while you still have access to your data on Google. Maybe wait until Thursday to do Digg, as I am sure they'll be hammered on Weds. But do it, lest you lose all.


Use Twitter or Google Plus as Your Reader

Most blogs echo new posts to Twitter and or G+, and following on your most-used social media site is a painless way to keep an eye out for new material.

I say painless, but that is not always true. If you follow any of the photo-aggregator blogs, you'll quickly see that they often post half a dozen times a day. It can get to be a bit much.

With a focus primarily on original content, Strobist publishes 1.5x-2x/week. So following on Twitter or G+ is not overly burdensome to your stream and that won't change. Post-Google Reader, I will make sure to echo new posts to Twitter and G+, so that will be a surefire way to keep up.

Both Strobist's Twitter and Google Plus streams include other content as they are not merely new-post announcement vehicles. Also, I am not so formal and rigid (or clothed, for that matter) as on the main site. All bets are kinda off. If this is a drag, you should choose another method.

The disadvantage with Twitter is you basically only get a headline or a tease rather than the full RSS text-before-jump. That said, I endeavor to keep the overhyped headlines to an absolute minimum.


Strobist in Your In-Box

Given that Strobist is not a hyper-frequent blog, many choose to subscribe by email. At one-to-two posts per week, it is minimally intrusive. Plus, you get the lead photo and the entire pre-jump text.

Subscribing is super easy. Just click here, and enter your email address. You'll get a verification email. Follow that link and you are in like Flynn.

And it should go without saying that I don't spam readers and I don't sell your info. Because, duh.
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I'll be honest. Losing Google Reader next weekend is gonna suck. But losing you as a reader would suck even more.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you on the other side.