Google dumping Reader :: record label dumping artist after latest release sells "only" 500K units.

— Scott Andrew (@scottandrew) March 14, 2013

I was bummed to hear Google Reader was shutting down, but mostly because I'd already invested a bunch of emotional energy getting used to it after the demise of Bloglines (RIP). I'm currently looking for open sourced, host-your-own alternatives. Ten years ago I would've tried to build my own, but these days I'd rather spend that time and energy learning to slap-pop on bass so as to more efficiently annoy my bandmates.

Others have said it more eloquently, but I'll echo the sentiment here: this is a good thing for RSS and blogs in the long run. This is also the first time I can recall where the dominant player has self-selected for extinction. To be honest, I don't know anyone who loved Reader. But judging from the online outcry, people still love reading blogs and want an efficient way to read lots of them.

It'll be a pain finding a replacement, but I'm enjoying the hell out of seeing blogs and RSS in tech news again.