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More than 500,000 Google Reader users have joined Feedly in the past 48 hours

329 points| georgeoliver | 13 years ago |blog.feedly.com

178 comments

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[+] nsns|13 years ago|reply
I believe most users are currently in a "searching" phase, and have joined more than one alternative, so this sudden growth might be misleadding. That said, for now, Feedly is my favorite alternative, so good luck.
[+] TillE|13 years ago|reply
"Misleading" in the sense that only a fraction of those may become loyal Feedly users, sure.

But it seems like a pretty good estimate of the number of active and aggrieved Google Reader users out there.

[+] grimman|13 years ago|reply
It's interesting to see how different people's opinions can be. Feedly, for me, was a headache wrapped in CSS. The whole thing actually made me ridiculously angry (yes, really, and I'm normally a veeery calm guy)... so for me the search continues. I'm glad it's not quite as difficult for other people to find a suitable replacement. :)
[+] webwanderings|13 years ago|reply
You are right about most user being in the searching mode. The fact is, Google Reader kept many people hooked. So none of the searching will yield any good result for many people (because they are so heavily used to of GR).

I am not getting good vibes out of Feedly even though it is getting unusually large number of mentions.

[+] tomjen3|13 years ago|reply
What about the old reader?

It seems the most direct route and they removed the 'manage your contacts' requirement (unless you use it to find friends, which seems reasonable).

[+] omaranto|13 years ago|reply
Since I like the searching, reading and organizing experience I have in the email clients I use, I decided to give Blogtrottr a shot: it sends you the contents of your RSS feeds by email, you can decided whether to get an email for each post or a daily digest (there are optiones, too). Looks pretty good so far.
[+] stickhandle|13 years ago|reply
I tried feedly, the old reader, and newsblur. The old reader is nice, but no mobile :-(. Newsblur is a mess ... i want a reader that gets out of my way. The only thing it really needs to do is let me organize things my way. Newsblur has that intelligence nonsense ... i already curated and organized. I don't need more. Sorry - i don't want to share with others either. It's for me. The interface has so much going on. I can't understand why HNers like it so much. Feedly is the (im)perfect choice so far. I wish it had more organizational settings, especially global. The "today" page is interesting, but i wish i could exclude some feeds that publish way more than others and just fill up the screen (sites like Ars Technica where i prefer to see their list of articles in rss rather than on their site). I expect LOTS more option to appear in the coming months, but right now, for a web based solution, Feedly is head and shoulders the best (imo). Their android app is really nice - takes a bit of getting the handle on, but after a few minutes, it seems like the absolute right way to do things (nevermind the great integration with Pocket). Cheers Feedly -- looking forward to an expected innovation run by you folks and hopefully a pay version.
[+] rdl|13 years ago|reply
Feedly seems to be doing the best out of the alternatives for performance in light of the deluge of Reader refugees (Newsblur, WTF?) -- but it is still very "sparse" in layout. I haven't figured out a way to get a simple listing of articles per feed like Reader does, which means it won't work for me.

I want something even more dense than Reader, or at least no worse. TheOldReader is close, but I would prefer something with iOS clients as well.

TT-RSS is looking like the best option (even though it has no apps), but I don't really want to have to host a PHP app.

Philosophically I love Feedly (YC company, startup, etc.), but I don't think they want to make some dense power user tool like a direct Reader replacement.

[+] pan69|13 years ago|reply
Add to Chrome:

- Access your data on all websites

- Access your tabs and browsing activity

Yeah, right. I'm an idiot?

[+] MatthewPhillips|13 years ago|reply
Also it adds a button to the bottom right of every web page. I immediately uninstalled when I learned this.

Newsblur has no such shenanigans and is developed by a HNer.

[+] dm2|13 years ago|reply
Also no ability to use the RSS reader website without installing an app or extension? What??

No thanks Feedly, I'll pass.

[+] nolliesnom|13 years ago|reply
Also, why does it need to be a Chrome extension? What happened to non-extension web sites?
[+] hamax|13 years ago|reply
I'm not associated with feedly or their user but I'm guessing they need those permissions for getting the rss feed url from the web page and for detecting the current active tab. Probably to display an appropriate icon.

It does sound scary but it's really hard to do anything without those permissions.

[+] mschuster91|13 years ago|reply
Just about every other extension does that, too, I've noticed. Is this maybe the finest granularity Chrome's API offers?
[+] donniezazen|13 years ago|reply
Can anyone say that these extensions make a clear distinction between access and store? As long as they don't store any information about pages I have visited or text I have entered in a browser, I don't see much trouble.
[+] Heliosmaster|13 years ago|reply
If you use just the shortcut in the browser, nothing is needed.
[+] diminoten|13 years ago|reply
And why in high holy hell do you give a shit?
[+] martinced|13 years ago|reply
Is this something that all Chrome extensions ask for or only some?

I tried to install AdBlock Plus in Chromium and it asked the same question...

[+] OGinparadise|13 years ago|reply
Yeah, right. I'm an idiot?

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt... :)

[+] fdb|13 years ago|reply
It scares me that they add 500,000 users and I don't understand how they make money.

At this point I'd like to either pay for a service or use something self-hosted to make sure I don't have to go through a painful transition again.

[+] maratd|13 years ago|reply
> or use something self-hosted

Take a look at: http://www.feedafever.com

Just installed it. Works just like Google Reader, with a few bonus features. I don't have to worry about being shut down anymore.

[+] mkr-hn|13 years ago|reply
They mentioned (on Twitter) plans to offer premium options in the future. They also have ads, so that may be how they pay for it now.
[+] Rickasaurus|13 years ago|reply
They must be selling your info. Just look at the Chrome access: "Access your data on all websites" and "Access your tabs and browsing activity"
[+] georgeoliver|13 years ago|reply
I looked at 10 or 15 readers and am using Feedly at the moment. I tweaked it a little to get a minimal and compact layout.

http://wp.me/aseR-cs

I added an extension [1] to open articles in a background tab (their keyboard shortcut foregrounds the new tab).

I made a simple new style in Stylish [2] to streamline the UI:

  #feedlyTitleBar {display:none !important;}
  #feedlyPageHeader {display:none !important;}
  #systemBar {display:none !important;}
So far this works for me.

[1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/feedly-will-open-e...

[2] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stylish/fjnbnpbmke...

[+] Kopion|13 years ago|reply
So much relative effort and baggage compared to how Reader works. Reader's death continues to sadden me.
[+] niggler|13 years ago|reply
Congratulations on being well-positioned and ready to handle the onslaught when Google announced that they were axing Reader. You clearly were "where the puck will be" :)
[+] white_devil|13 years ago|reply
Just when we were discussing the complete lack of online privacy, here's a free app that just happily added new servers and 10x bandwith to accommodate 500 000 more users.

Sweet. Nevermind how they can afford all that capacity. Maybe they're a charity, funded by Bill & Melinda?

[+] tempestn|13 years ago|reply
I'm sure they will come out with a premium version or some such eventually. If you were Feedly would you really turn down the opportunity provided here just because you can't immediately monetize the new users?
[+] kzrdude|13 years ago|reply
I suppose it has been discussed and put to rest but..

I used the linux Liferea in 2006, and I still use it in 2013. I can hit update and read the new articles offline.. Privacy status: It runs on my computer.

[+] astar|13 years ago|reply
If this many Reader users converted in so short of time, then it is amazing that Google could't find a way to monetize the service or at least keep it revenue-neutral, or even have it be a useful loss-leader
[+] ialja|13 years ago|reply
So, nobody was using Google Reader anyway, declining numbers and so on, eh?
[+] angusgr|13 years ago|reply
As far as I can tell Feedly has no OPML export feature, so if it eventually goes away it's a dead end for users.

(Please prove me wrong, but I searched the site and also installed the extension to try and find one.)

[+] daigoba66|13 years ago|reply
I wish it worked in IE. By that I mean I wish it worked without a browser extension.
[+] Apocryphon|13 years ago|reply
"You venture to call Ferdinand a wise ruler," he said to his courtiers—"he who has impoverished his own country and enriched mine!"
[+] znowi|13 years ago|reply
In contrast to a lot of discontent about the Reader's demise, think about the opportunities it brings for this market? I've seen at least 10 alternatives popping up these last 2 days. Google leaving jump-started the competition in a seemingly stagnant field.
[+] pbreit|13 years ago|reply
Surprisingly, Feedly seems like the best replacement at this point. But it's bizarre that Feedly requires plugin/extension for browsers and an app for iOS. Obviously the winning solution is a web site and iOS-optimized web pages.
[+] overloaded|13 years ago|reply
I would love to see how Feedly is, but it's completely broken in Safari. It asks for approval via Google OAuth on every page load, and once it has approval it displays a login page, again.

There seem to be a number of issues surrounding this. Some people point to OAuth being the problem. Some people point to the Safari extension. One way or another, it's broken, and there's absolutely nothing on their Twitter, blog, Uservoice, or Get Satisfaction even indicates they're aware of the cloud of problems surrounding Safari usage.

[+] edo|13 years ago|reply
Feedly must be having a party now. Kudos to them.