Create a solid editorial filter. The weak spot in any news reading experience is that, sooner or later, unread posts to read will overwhelm you. How the software manages that volume on behalf of the reader is critical. Google Reader competes for the same time slots that Twitter does—two minute distractions from work, an unplanned pause while on the go, a 15 minute, desk-bound lunch, and so on. I don’t want to spend any of that time trying to figure out what’s good to read. A good news reader should do that for me, like a good editor.
Hey, this is supposed to be fun. The Google Reader interface borrows a lot, structurally and visually, from the Gmail interface. Unfortunately, the Gmail interface isn’t a great long-form reading interface. Unread post counts, read/unread statuses, labeling, folders… that all feels like work. Why would I want to use software that constantly reminds me I have 1000+ things to do? Feedly and Flipboard are clearly headed in the right direction in this regard. Make that stuff go away, so the reading experience comes to the fore and feels fun.
Never, ever, ever call the product an “RSS reader” or a “feed reader” or any other name that frames the service in terms of the technology. No one knows what RSS means, much less how it works. To get widespread adoption, news readers should frame the software in terms of what it allows you to do, not the technology it supports. One possibility, especially if my first suggestion were realized: if Twitter tells me what’s new, then Google Reader should tell me what’s good.
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