Being built into the online window means that Google can push content into mobile notification panels."
Google Reader
Google Reader, whichretired in 2013, did exactly this.
It was like email, only with stuff you wanted to read.
And now, it’s backkind of.
It powers podcast subscriptions and services like Flipboard.
Kind of like believing that the entire web had ceased to exist if Google Search shut down.
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But while RSS feeds and reader apps never went away, their popularity waned.
Perhaps this new feature in Chrome will change that.
But what’s in it for Google?
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Right now, manyperhaps mostpeople get their news via Twitter or Facebook.
The problems here are legion.
It’s impractical because important stories can pass you by on the river of tweets and updates.
It’s biased because the stories are picked by algorithm.
You do not choose the sources of the news you read.
Instead, they’re picked by either an algorithm or by the people you follow.
Or rather, the stories that the algorithm recommended to the people you follow.
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If “following” takes off, then it could have a profound effect.
Instead of following people on social networks, we could follow their blogs, leading to more considered discourse.
Without the need to grab fleeting attention, discussions could have more context and, therefore, more depth.
And they need not exclude each other.
Twitter is a good place to promote and share your blog posts and to discuss them.
