How Google crushed and abandoned the RSS industry

Google announced in March 2013 that it would retire Google Reader on July 1, 2013, citing declining usage and a company-wide focus on fewer products. The article argues that Google entered a crowded RSS market with a free product, displaced competitors such as Bloglines and NewsGator, and then discontinued the service once it no longer served its purposes. It cites Google's 2010 end of offline access through Gears and NewsGator's return to its original owner after losing its consumer business. Developers including Nick Bradbury of FeedDemon, who said FeedDemon would close with Reader, were left without a sync platform.