Google's entry into the RSS reader market last year brought the company a pretty universal slagging, partly because it really was bad, and partly because it seemed like a display of arrogance -- as though the company was saying: "We're Google so of course you'll love it." But Google chose the best possible response: it listened to the feedback, then went away and did it right.
Now the Official Google Reader Blog says:
As of today, Google Reader has a new look -- and even more important, a lot of new features that we think you'll like. We've listened to your feedback, done usability research, and examined all the ways that people consume content on the web, from feed readers to email clients. With a clean interface and some JavaScript wizardry, we think we've built an application that accommodates a wide range of reading styles while being fun and easy to use.
So what's new? First, we've added some things you've been asking for, such as unread counts and "mark all as read." Folder-based navigation makes it easier to organize your subscriptions, and the new expanded view lets you quickly scan over several items at once. And we've made sharing much easier -- with a single click of the "shared" icon, you can publish an interesting item on your public sharing page for your friends to see. So give the new Reader a try. We hope you like it!
There's even a video to show it off.
This is a Google Labs product, which means it's coming in at a lower level than a standard Google marketing beta. It's a lot like Gmail (good) but not as integrated with email as Yahoo's RSS reader. It probably won't get too many people deserting Bloglines. Still, it's a huge advance on last year's version, and will get lots of praise for that.
If you have spent a year saying things like "Just because it's from Google doesn't mean it's not rubbish: look at their RSS reader for example!" then you'll now have to find a different product to encapsulate duffness.
As a Google product, it now fits my favourite description of what Microsoft does all the time: It hasn't raised the bar, but it has raised the floor.
