Back Atcha. @GoogleReader #savegooglereader

If between Google Reader, Feedburner, Blogger and AdSense somehow the brilliant minds of Google couldn't figure out how to offer it for free and still make money, they're lying or they don't understand its value or they are not as smart as we think they are.

And heck, if you want to talk insights, if Google Reader users are subscribing in large numbers to the same feeds, then every time we read or don't read a post that could influence the PageRank. I think this will hurt overall readership of the internet and actually even hurt Google. I think it was shortsighted.

And that's why on July 1, I will stop supporting their fledging social network, Google+.

And I'm really scared about what's next...

• Feedburner? (Duh. That's in round 3 coming in two weeks.)
• Blogger? (It's extraneous - you can post on Google+!)
• Google Voice? (Pfft... voice... You can host a hangout and use video!)
• Gmail? (You'll have more fun chatting with your circles!)
• Google Apps for Personal Use? (Oh... wait... you already killed that. That's why you keep hounding me for $5/person/month.)

Speaking of wanting my money... where's the offer to pay to use Google Reader? Not that they need the money, but pretty sure they could make a profit selling subscriptions to Google Reader. But no, they're not interested. Shortsighted, I tell you.

Wondering what all the fuss is?  Here's an explanation of Google Reader I wrote in 2007.  Sadly, so little has changed since then that this is still probably a legitimate guide to using Google Reader.  Still Not Using Google Reader? (tvjames x blog, Nov. 2007)