So the Spring (!) cleaning is starting to take place again at Google HQ and they are shutting down some services, unfortunately our beloved Google Reader is amongst them. We have used Google Reader for years as our main way of finding and keeping track of stuff on the Internet… you know those important Blog posts that you need, or that keyword you are tracking.

Also we know that a few of you have subscribed to receive our blogs via the RSS feed, so please sit up and take note of the following so that you don’t miss any of the updates that are important for you.

Well we now have just a couple of months to find an alternative (closing doors date is July 1st), but the first thing that you will want to do is download the feed information you have already got with Google Reader, fortunately they make it really easy for you to do this. You just need to login to takeout and click the create archive button, this will produce a zip file that will download to your computer… ready for upload into the new reader.

We have been looking at web-based alternatives to Google Reader, and taking a look at a list we found on TechSupportAlert we have already found our favourite moving forward… the clear winner for us is Feedly. (and actually when you sign in it will sync with Google for you so you don’t need to download!)

Feedly for us really is the option that we think is just the most friendly to use, you can pick your layout and theme so that your news feed resonates with you…the stories are then presented to you like a deck of cards, very pinterest-like which for most people is a great way to visually absorb new content (you can just have a timeline if you prefer). There is also a sharing function so that you can easily share your stories with your network…very neat. Feedly also has a mobile app that you can download so you never miss anything when you’re on the run.

Its really simple to install and use, a couple of clicks and you’re away. Our advice, do this job sooner rather than later so that you don’t lose some of the news services you’ve signed up to!