Some interesting reading on the eve of the Google Reader shutdown: The Retailification of Online Publishing. If the developer community hadn't allowed RSS, an inherently distributed technology, to centralise I think some of the issues here could've been avoided.
Another thoughtful piece is the war for the free and open internet. The privatization of the internet goes hand in hand with shutting down distributed technologies.
Maybe the shake-up in the feed reader ecosystem is enough to get things moving in the right direction. I get that discovery is the problem to which centralisation provides an answer, but I hope we can find other solutions. If the end of reader has meant anything to me it's the chance to reflect on what communication tools I use. I want more control over those tools, and plan on working to make that happen. There's great stuff happening, like the ideas coming from people at indie web, I look forward to discovering more.
Following the Reader Deathwatch
Another thoughtful piece is the war for the free and open internet. The privatization of the internet goes hand in hand with shutting down distributed technologies.
Maybe the shake-up in the feed reader ecosystem is enough to get things moving in the right direction. I get that discovery is the problem to which centralisation provides an answer, but I hope we can find other solutions. If the end of reader has meant anything to me it's the chance to reflect on what communication tools I use. I want more control over those tools, and plan on working to make that happen. There's great stuff happening, like the ideas coming from people at indie web, I look forward to discovering more.