Google has been doing a lot of little changes to their already existing products with several others on the way. Google Reader is the top RSS reader (Really Simple Syndication) that collects the latest updated posts from blogs, photo galleries, and other types of websites. Traditional RSS readers make web browsing more effective. Instead of visiting your thirty favorite news websites and blogs, this web application collects the content of those websites and puts them in one place for your viewing pleasure. But Google Reader is not a traditional RSS reader.
Why I Love It
The redesign is a complete overhaul for the RSS feeder yet has the same look as the Google+ feel. Google is wanting to create one brand between all of their various projects. Look at Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google+ and notice that after six months of use, we will distinguish Google as lots of whitespace, smooth colors, and clean designs. Building a brand involves similarity between all the parts of a product, something that Google is finally fixing.
Another big change to the design is the replacement of the ‘Like’ link of an article with the now famous Google +1 button. Both the mobile and desktop browser versions have integrated it into the design. This means that Google Reader can be better utilized in the rapidly developing social network. (Something Facebook does not have!) Google Reader did have the ability to share via Google Buzz (which is now gone), we hopefully this will be a bit more successful. Is this yet another reason that Google+ will win the social network race in the long run?
Why I Hate It
While I love the integration into other products, I do not like the feel when viewing individual posts. When you go to view all of the new articles of a blog, you never read every single one. I love to scroll through and screen the article via the title, but the new design makes this much harder to do. They really need to look at clearly defining a separation between one article from the next.
Secondly, Google Reader’s Overview Page does not have a fluid flow to it. Try this. Go to the Google Reader homepage and feel where your eyes go. When I first get there my eyes go to, of all places, the whitespace. Google Reader is suppose to be all about the content, thus that should be the focus for our eyes when we get to the site. We as viewers need assistance in defining the three columns of data so that we can quickly access content and move on, a theme that Google holds to.
So what do you love and hate about the new design?
Peter S says
Took a quick look at it and my first thought was that I hope I can keep some of my plugins going to use it instead of getting that awful interface. White space abounds – lots of it. If I wanted lots of space between each article, I’d have used a different RSS reader. I use an extension that colorizes the articles based on feed (not 100% accurate, but it works to distinguish feeds). Now I’m treated to lots of white and black which is just ugly to see.
My first thought was – it’s not broken, why mess with it? My second was that I want to just “like” something without it going out to Google+. (Just for my own purposes.) I kind of like the idea that if I “Share” something it can go to G+, but there are a lot of ticked off users who have been using the Share feature as it was intended and have now lost that functionality.
The responses I’ve seen so far have been overwhelmingly negative towards the Reader redesign and loss of features. I tend to agree, though the lack of Shared items doesn’t bother me too much. Google’s got some work to do to get the redesigned Reader to the point where it’s pleasant to use instead of painful. At the very least they should have offered a “Switch Back” option for people who don’t want the new reader. I know which way I’d lean and I’m still wondering why they haven’t offered it.
Jeremy Smith says
I understand that concern. I think the thing they did not think through in all of this is that the people that use Google Reader are the ones that could use Google+ the most. But if they make too many changes too fast, they will be turned off like her friends.
The overall idea is a great one, but done too fast.
Peter S says
I already use Google+ – they’re two completely different products for two very different markets. It’s not just the changes, but the fact that there’s no way to opt out, no easy way to get back screen real estate, and the fact that they actually dropped features people use all combine to be a really bad user experience. They should have offered a preview and gotten feedback from their top users. Instead they made whatever changes they thought would be good and threw them out to everyone. Very unlike what they’ve done in the past for their other products. I’ve somehow got the old interface still running in one of my windows and hope I can keep that going as long as possible. Someday I’ll be logged out or have the window refreshed – not looking forward to that.
I think I’d argue that what they didn’t think through was the actual users. I’ve seen a lot of posts of the heavy users who are now seeking alternatives again – not those who really use other RSS readers or don’t use RSS readers very much at all.
I think I’d also argue that the overall idea isn’t really that great. They didn’t address what users really want. They addressed a business problem of how to get more people using G+. While that may make some sense business-wise, if you alienate those users, you’ve failed.
Jeremy Smith says
I guess we will see in the long run if people really do switch or just keep to Google Reader. Hopefully Google learns from this mishap. Thanks for the share.
Adam Lehman says
I really like the new layout. I spend a solid chunk of time each day swimming in Google Reader.
Jeremy Smith says
What do you like most about the changes?
Andrew Ledwith says
I like the new layout, but I won’t use it much. I read my Google Reader feeds in Reeder. It’s a great app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Much better than the web interface IMO, though it hasn’t been updated with the new Google+ integration yet.
Jeremy Smith says
That’s a good point. Those with desktop apps will not see a change, but may never get to see the Google+ integration.
Andrew Ledwith says
The developers behind Reeder have been very responsive to the changes Google has made to Reader in the past. It might take a week or two but I wouldn’t doubt for a second that the functionality will be making its way to their apps. But I can’t speak for other apps and developers, so you do still make a good point in the grand scheme of things.
Jeremy Smith says
That would be amazing if they could integrate everything so quickly. Definitely would show they value users to get the full experience.
Mickey says
My only gripe is that when you reach the end of your unread items, it keeps going into your previously read items. I like how it used to simply stop.
Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with the changes.
Jeremy Smith says
Great point! Thanks for the share!
Josh Wagner says
I actually like the new design. Visually, it meshes and it feels more at home when I’m switching between Gmail and G+ and Google Reader. But, the removing the sharing function killed it for me. I used that to broadcast to my Twitter/FB profiles, and now I can’t easily do that. I switched to using Feedly for now, and I really like that too. And for me, the sharing is a lot easier.
Jeremy Smith says
I definitely agree that the consistency between Google Reader with the other Google Apps is great and something that was a long time coming. I agree that the need to share to all social networks are necessary for a Reader and that feature is one reason why many people might leave. Great share!
Peter says
I agree Jeremy, I myself have never been a fan of the interface of Google reader either. I’ve always used their service but I’ve synced my Google reader account with web or iPad apps that are so much better looking and have a greater functionality.
As far as the web app goes, I don’t think that anybody can beat the aesthetics of http://www.feedly.com. If you haven’t checked them out yet, I’d be interested in hearing your opinion. They’re free 🙂
Jeremy Smith says
I will definitely have to check it out. Thanks for sharing!
Brent Alexander says
I wouldn’t know about the new design. I can’t remember the last time I’ve visited that site. Don’t get me wrong, I love the functionality of Google Reader. It’s GUI — not so much. That’s why I switched to Feedly (http://feedly.com) when it came out last year. It has changed the way I get my dose of web. I use multiple times a day. Very slick iPhone app as well. Best part is that it seamlessly integrates with my Google Reader account!
Jeremy Smith says
High recommendations! I need to check this out tonight. Thanks for the share!
Chase says
I’ve used Google Reader’s online interface for years and loved it. It’s easy to use, save articles for later, email them to my wife or to Evernote. But that whitespace is just killing me. All I see is snow when I try to use it.
Based upon some friends advice, I switched over to Reeder and love it. The design is clean and draws your eyes to the right spot – the content. Sharing is still there with icons in the top right. Couldn’t be happier so far.
Jeremy Smith says
That is my biggest complaint! What is the point of having an RSS reader that you cannot read well?
michael bells says
agreed… way too much white space
scrolling down through my list of feeds is a pain… the scroll bar is too narrow
i wonder if they will integrate themes from gmail, so we can add in some colour, or is that going to change as well?
Jeremy Smith says
Great point. I am not sure. As of right now, the themes are a GMail specific thing. In fact, I fear we might lose them… I hope not.
Courtney Engle says
I scanned over 1,000 subscriptions daily, and relied upon other curators to share content. It grabbed my attention quickly to look at whatever new thing was the hot topic now.
I am impartial on the new look, but hope like Gmail, we can get a “compact” option.
I relied upon my “shared” RSS to post content automatically to Twitter & FB Networked Blogs. I “liked” much more inside Reader to share within Reader, but selectively Shared to auto post elsewhere. Manually doing this is painful.
The +1 button is nice, but it’s so slow compared to sharing. And if I want to see in G+ all the articles people I followed shared, I have to manually put the 2500 connections into a circle, then sift out all the other stuff they post rather than just seeing articles.
Jeremy Smith says
What a pain! I cannot imagine. I wonder if any of these apps provided in the comments would be of better use to you? Thanks for this perspective!
Jason D. says
I’ve used reader for about 5 years now and have always loved it and all things Google,… until yesterday when I saw all the changes.
For the most part I like the new design (except for TOO MUCH whitespace as has been pointed out, they need to do it more like gMail) and the +1 but I miss to much about it.
The old look wasn’t bad, and losing features like “Share”, “Share with Note”, making my own post to share with those subscribed to my shares, and all those being able to be commented on… I used those daily, and now they are just gone!
This is probably the first time I’ve been mad at my beloved Google, and from what I read there are no good alternatives to #googlereader :*(
grrr grrr grrrrrrrr!
And I just found out your can’t type in the search box (type in the part where you pick which blog you want to search through)… that was a feature i used ALOT!.. I just don’t think G+ can replace all this :*( #googleplus #googleplusupdate #failfailfail
Jeremy Smith says
Agreed, agreed, and agreed. Thanks for the share (and hopefully it was a good vent. 😀 )
Jason D. says
ya i feel a little better 😀
until i discovered that today my reader by default goes to the homepage even though my settings tell it to go to “all items” :*( although that is an issue i assume they will fix 😀
Jeremy Smith says
We will see! They have a TON of complaints.
Mark says
I really wish it had the same “Display Density” controls as the New Gmail.
I mostly read feeds on my 13″ macbook and the new look has the articles spaced out more which is not great when screen real-estate is precious on smaller screens.