Column: Why Facebook and AOL think you need a news reader app
MINYANVILLE Credit: MINYANVILLE
When Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced that its Google Reader feature would be discontinued as of July 1, the outpouring of rage was loud and immediate.
Still, it barely registered as an Internet phenomenon. Millions of people were annoyed, but a billion more said, in effect, “Huh? What’s a news reader?”
Which makes it interesting that AOL (NYSE:AOL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) are falling all over each other to rush out a replacement for a feature that Google apparently decided could never achieve critical mass.
The early judgment of tech writers is that both efforts are likely to be a mess, but that conclusion is premature to say the least. AOL’s version went up hours ago as a limited-access beta test, and Facebook’s news reader is literally just a rumor.
'It's personal to me' The law would require businesses to have proper state licensing, prove that their employees are paid and ban staff from living at the spas or sleeping there overnight. Repeat offenders could face penalties up to $25,000. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn has more.
'It's personal to me' The law would require businesses to have proper state licensing, prove that their employees are paid and ban staff from living at the spas or sleeping there overnight. Repeat offenders could face penalties up to $25,000. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn has more.
