If you’re a frequent user of Google Reader you’ve probably heard by now that Google is killing off Google Reader effective July 1, 2013. I won’t use this platform to discuss the merits of Google Reader (it’s awesome) or how important it is (very) to what I do. I won’t even list a bunch alternatives (someone already has).
I will give you the alternative to Google Reader, one that I had long forgotten about. Netvibes.
What is it?
Netvibes was founded in 2005 and has around 4 million active users. They’ve branded themselves as a dashboard, think iGoogle. It’s a dynamic workspace where you can add modules (apps/widgets) that provide information. A default dashboard looks like this:
Netvibes is free and gives you the ability to see your feed in two different ways. The widget view can be shuffled and re-organized to infinity. If you don’t care for the dashboard look you have the reader view that is similar to what you would see in Google Reader.
With Netvibes you have the ability to integrate any enterprise or web app on to your dashboards. Easily add Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or Search Content.
Adding Feeds
Adding feeds is as simple as entering a website address. Netvibes will do the rest.
Transitioning
If you’re coming from Google Reader, there’s an easy way to import all your existing feeds into Netvibes.
- Log in to Google Takout
- Click on “Create archive” to export your subscriptions as a ZIP file
- Unzip the saved file to your desktop
- Go to Netvibes, click on “Add content” then “OPML: Import”, “Choose File” and select the “subscriptions.XML” file you just unzipped
- Click on “Import”
Expect a few hiccups as they are seeing a sudden increase of signups. I created my account back in 2009 and event that was slowed to a halt yesterday following the announcement from Google. Be patient, this is a solid alternative that I think you’ll enjoy.
Have you found other alternatives to Google Reader?
