I’m sure you noticed this, but sometimes the techy world likes to put a few roadblocks in our path just to see what we will do with them. We are cats, and our natural tendency is to whap anything that gets in our way. However, sometimes it is just best to go around the obstacles so you can keep on keeping on.
We’ve experienced this several times over the years and each time we’ve been better off for the experience. So, we have made the decision to De-Google, completely. A while back, after constant changes and some frustration, we left Blogger, got our own domain, and moved over to WordPress. We have been very happy with our move and we never really gave it a second thought, we’re just happy there. Then Google announced that they are going to discontinue Google Reader. Dang, that was has really frustrated us. We follow over 450 different blogs and have grown quite used to the ease and simplicity of Google Reader. Being Mac Kitties, we’ve been on the search for a suitable replacement, something that would work on our Mac, our iPad and our iPhone. While we haven’t found anything we are really fond of, we’ve sure had the opportunity to look at just about everything that is out there. Google has given us the gift of countless hours searching the web and app stores for that elusive tool that will keep our blog reading world simple. It’s sort of like a treasure hunt.
Then there is the whole big email thing. My Dad has had GMail since it first opened and then I got my GMail address when I came to my forever home. I’ve known forever that Google scans all of our emails and sells the information to advertisers, and it didn’t bother me much since I am a cat, and the service was free. Of course we understand that Google is a business, and they have to make business decisions just like the rest of us. They need to do what they need to do, and so do we. So, we’re in the process of De-Googling. Is it easy? Nope. But it is happening. We have our new email addresses set up and will let you know what those are soon. In the meantime, while we are grabbing all of our old emails from the GMail accounts, our mail is being forwarded to our new addresses. We have exported all of our Reader feeds and are currently using Feedly as our reader and we have changed our search engine.
I know all of this will be a good thing in the end and I am thankful to Google for giving us the incentive to move on to something new. Remember, adopt cats, we deserve it!!!!! More Forever Homes More Often! Purrrrr! Zip! Later!
“Google has given us the gift of countless hours searching the web and app stores for that elusive tool that will keep our blog reading world simple.” MOL! Our head peep knows *exactly* what you mean! We’re still trying to get the hang of Feedly and are not terribly pleased with it, but will try a little more before giving up and using a for-pay service. One tip that the head peep got about de-Googling from a friend who works at a data center: Don’t use the email address for your domain as the contact for things that go wrong… Read more »
Mommy could never figure out Google Reader. She could read the blogs from there but couldn’t comment so she found it really frustrating. She just sticks to the Google Dashboard. Good luck de-Googling!
This all sounds like Greek to me. My husband set me up and I don’t actually know on what! Good luck and let us know. That is a cute picture.
We were quite annoyed about Google Reader too, because we follow hundreds of blogs with it, even though we aren’t commenting or posting much anymore. Our human did install Feedly for both Chrome and Firefox (she uses both browsers for Reader), but isn’t using it much yet. It’ll just take a bit of getting used to, and she will…when she has to. In the meantime, we’re all used to Reader’s set up and find it easier. But it’s just what you adjust to. BTW, good tip re: de-Googling and to provide a non-Gmail email address in case there are problems.… Read more »
Wow, that sounds like a huge project. I am interested in what email you are going to use. Good luck to you. Hope it all works for you. Can’t wait to hear more about all this.
Have a good day all of you.
Since we are easily confused we hates having to change to something new but alas sometimes we has too.
Our email is with the same company as our telephone supplier so we don’t have this problem – could you try your supplier?
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Wish I knew how to move over to Word Press. M is not happy the way Google forces us into things – like Google +. Good luck and keep us posted.
I think we should go and read about this news, maybe we have to change somehting? Have a wonderful thursday :o)
Were a bit think when it comes to computers, we have Gmail but I’m not sure about Google reader, oh now I’m getting so confused. Catching up Brian, and those two beautiful girls in yesterdays post, give them a kizz from me..MOL xx00xx
Mollie and Alfie
I think all internet techy stuff has its problem not matter who runs it,xx Speedy
We just use da dashboard and golly I hopes we not has to change nuttin’ or my head will totally be spinnin’. I does like to just go through obstacles instead of around…hehehe.
Puddles
dood…we did knot due good in skewl in math, histree ore reedin sew we hope we doez knot haza google reeder….we hope ewe N yur familee can find sum grate treazure…gold wood be swell, catnip wood be awesum N we all sew wanna say haza happee week oh end anda happee eazter az well 🙂
Geeez Brian thank goodness your Dad is one tech step ahead of the google game.
BTW you are looking very handsome today too.
hugs madi your BFFF
Wow you are going right to town, google is a pain in the butt though, so bravo.
Since much of my blog reading is done on Safari on a laptop and not the iPad, Feedly isn’t the best solution for me… still looking!
Good job by you and the Dad to de-Google, Brian. We’re pretty miffed about the discontinuation of Google Reader, too. We follow so many blogs that way, and we are used to it. This is a good reminder for our dad to check out feedly and other options.
We think Google is making a big mistake ans are not happy.
Thanks for coming aboard. I am so behind the times, Mum is getting a headache from this bad google…i wish Dad was here…Brian, what to do? Meow…Kitty
We may change but right now the front runner for a Reader is Feedly. We are sure that there will be many options before Google REader actually shuts down. We find it hard to argue much about Google because it’s free, including blogger, Gmail, Picasa…but change is not always pleasant. We do love RSS and we don’t think that is going away anytime soon, but we are aware that there is a lot of new techy stuff out there and they consider the RSS feed ancient, so there is new ways to recieve things and we are sure this is… Read more »
Our Mama has many problems comments to to email and doesn’t show up on our blog. We keep getting a box that says snap google has crashed, then we have to start all over. If our Mama gets a new computer she thinks she might do word press.
Very interesting. Currently we are getting all our new blog posts via e-mail. But if this Feedly thing works well, please let us know. Since you do have your own website, hope you set it up to get you’re e-mail at that address which is what our mommy does. It works really great. She has a couple of WordPress questions she would like to ask you, but she will wait until you have everything under control. Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette
When we lost our blog roll we lost many of out]r friends. we got google reader and managed to get most back and now it seems we will have to move again. Mum is baffled with it all and not yet had the time to look into it. we will have to though. Take care. Hugs GJ xx
Feedly! Hmmm! Wes is going to has to looks at this. We too has been thinking of de-Googling!
Kisses
Nellie
You are very brave to de-google! I’m in with them big time and don’t like it!! Am using Feedly too, but it is hopeless with ipad. I hope they get that sorted before Reader goes!
MOL! We like the creative twist on “thankful” – that google gave you “incentive” to do all that inconvenient work!
I follow blogs through email and for me it works great! Hoping the change is a good one for you!
We are thinking about another following way.
I think Google reader gone has it’s own reason, but we users can’t understand.
Sometimes we just have to adapt those tech changes,
they develop we adapted it, now they take it back, we have to adapted it again, and that just feel…. Hmmm….passive?
Learn alot for all you kitties! I am going to make Tommy take a look on how we are ‘Googling”–I have my e-mail thru here, it goes to Tommy’s Outlook e-mail thru our internet provider. Keep us posted Brian!! Sounds like a lot of work!!!
Noir
Brian, we are real disappointed that Google is discontinuing Google Reader. We’ve tried Feedly, but don’t like it as much. We also follow some blogs through email, but the thought of getting emails for all the blogs we follow is daunting!!
The mom says Google is gonna run the world one day.
That sounds like a lot of work. And 450 blogs? OMC! We opened a Google+ account recently but didn’t really know what to do with it and we didn’t like how deleted comments came up even though they were deleted, so we closed it.
My Human has so much dumb she just has a giant, semi-alphabetized list of blogs bookmarked in Chrome, ha ha ha! Well, at least it didn’t affect her when Google Reader went away. There’s always a silver lining!
We try to spread our info around hard to collect. We use Bing. We use the Firefox email. We use Blogger. We might start to search other ways to be a bit less visible to providers.
I hope that all your de-Googling goes well in the end. I just use the Dashboard and I haven’t had any problems with it. If that fails, I still have my blog list.
I think I am moving my blog over to wordpress, probably this weekend. Google’s lack of customer support pushed me over the edge lol. I usually need answers to a simple question about my blog, but spend hours or even days trying to figure out the answers. I thought, if something ever happened to my blog I’d never be able to speak with a human about it because you can’t contact a human at google. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly (fingers crossed). I’ve also decided to use Feedly, for now. I think I like it.
We don’t use Google Reader so we are not bothered. Hope De-Googling goes well. Have a fabulous Furday.
Best wishes Molly
We love google for searching and I have a gmail account because it was easy and I don’t have anything secret really since I am a dog, but it is disturbing that they do gather all that data from users. Sometimes change is a good thing 🙂
There is certainly the good, bad and the ugly of technology isn’t there? 🙁
xo Catherine
I’ve thought for a long time about leaving Blogger but TW is too lazy to learn about Word Press. Isn’t YouTube Google also? It seems they own a lot of different things. TW has a gmail account but I just have Blogger but I own my own domain.
Moggies are not liking change but know it is a good thing 😉