Google Reader Users Flock to Feedly

Now that Google Reader is shutting down (as of July 1st), the users who depended on the service need somewhere to go. Digg is reportedly scrambling to launch its own RSS news reader service to scoop up adrift users, but another site is already cashing in big time. Feedly says that as of Friday, more than half a million Google Reader users have already switched to its service; we’d guess that number has climbed substantially in the two days hence.

According to its blog, Feedly has been anticipating the demise of Google Reader for some time and has built a clone of the Google Reader API running on the Google App Engine called Normandy. It’s so ready to roll, in fact, that Google Reader users using Feedly will enjoy a seamless transition when the former shuts down.


Feedly also prepared for the hordes of new users by increasing its bandwidth by factor of ten and adding new servers. The site pledges more features each week and is soliciting suggestions from users new and old. If you need tips for migrating from Google Reader to Feedly, that’s available on the blog, too.

Although it’s a little trite to say it, this is an example of being prepared for success. Feedly saw an opportunity on the horizon and invested the time and money necessary to take advantage of it; by contrast, Digg got caught on its heels. Point: Feedly.