MARY GABLE

On March 13, Google announced it will be shutting down its Reader service. And it’s caused disappointment in all corners of the blogosphere. I’m right there with them. But to be honest, before the announcement, I didn’t realize there were so many other loyal Reader fans out there. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Reader’s demise had occurred quietly and without complaint.

I started using Google Reader late last year. My time on the Internet wasn’t being well spent, I’d decided. I hate wasted time—and I needed a fix. I remember the feeling of wanting to read or learn something worthwhile (you know, besides what my friends ate for lunch that day)—and not knowing quite where to look.

I wanted a way to keep up: with everything from news sources to essayists I liked to psychology research to trends in the writing and publishing worlds. And above all, I wanted it to be efficient. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure what I was even supposed to do with an RSS feed before installing Reader. But I had a feeling it was just what I’d been looking for.

It didn’t take long to make me a convert. Reader is quick, easy way to find and follow everyone from the lone blogger the news powerhouse, all in one place. But it’s more than that. Reader is like a back door into the world of news and commentary (or, I suppose, whatever world you build for yourself with your own gathering of feeds). Free from pesky ads and distracting sidebars, Reader is a spare, uncluttered gathering of content, hand-delivered just for you. A meticulously organized filing cabinet of newspaper clippings, turbocharged for the digital age.

For me, Reader means that great storytelling doesn’t end on the page. These days, I’ll have hardly put down an essay or finish a blog by a writer I’ve just discovered before I open up Reader and track down her work.  Search archives and devour more. And get notified every time a new unread item appears, boldfaced and waiting, in my queue.

Google Reader will cease refreshing for good on July 1. And with it, millions of invisible threads connecting readers with content will go quiet. I won’t abandon my subscriptions or stop following writers, of course (I started using Feedly, another RSS service, even before the Reader shutdown announcement).

But Reader changed how I connect with publications, opened up a world, and indeed, transformed the way I use the Internet. And when it comes to RSS readers, I’ll never forget my first.