Google Friend Connect is Leaving on July 1st

You already know that Google reader is leaving us on July 1st, but you might not have known that Google Friend Connect is going with it. There will no longer be that friendly "follow" button with everyone's happy faces on our sidebars.

It sucks, but it isn't the only way for people to follow your blog.

A lot of people were talking about feedly, but I didn't find it that user friendly, so I've been using bloglovin'  instead. It's easy to use and it's easy to put a follow button in your side bar.



The switch is less than three weeks away, so be ready! Go here to find out how to import your google reader to bloglovin' and here to get a button for your sidebar. Happy blog reading!

Comments

Tonja Drecker said…
Thanks for the tips. See if I can figure this one out ;)
June 19, 2013 at 6:40 AM
Suzi said…
I didn't know about the GFC thing, but with my wordpress blog, I couldn't have it anyway. I did join other people's though.

I converted over my Google Reader to Feedly. But maybe I should start a bloglovin' one too, if it allows you to connect with others. I'd rather do it now when I can import everything from GR.

Thanks for the tip.
June 19, 2013 at 7:00 AM
Alex J. Cavanaugh said…
GFC is vanishing as well? That really sucks.
I've been using both Feedly and Bloglovin'. Unfortunately, Bloglovin' freezes every time I try to clear out unread blogs. So I have over 1500 still sitting there.
June 19, 2013 at 7:04 AM
Annalisa Crawford said…
I've been using Bloglovin too - I didn't realise GFC was going. Sharing this post!
June 19, 2013 at 7:28 AM
Luanne G. Smith said…
Finally figured out how to get the follow button from Bloglovin on my blog the other day. Have a feeling we'll all lose a lot of followers in the transition.

And I'm having the same problem as Alex...site freezes up when I try to mark all posts as read. Not sure what's up with that.
June 19, 2013 at 7:30 AM
Unknown said…
I had read that and got the Bloglovin' button all set up. I'll miss the follow feature though-- or maybe I'll miss it because that's what I'm used to. I find Bloglovin' very easy to use and set up and haven't had an issue with it. I actually like it better than the Google feature now.
June 19, 2013 at 7:50 AM
Karen Jones Gowen said…
Really? REally??? ugh. The follower button and icon is the best thing about Blogger. Ugh again.
June 19, 2013 at 8:37 AM
prerna pickett said…
what?!?! I didn't even know. Thank you for the helpful tips!
June 19, 2013 at 9:58 AM
Jessie Humphries said…
Why?! Why oh why? Did we do something wrong? Are we being put in time out? This sucketh. But thanks for the tech help on this one. I better go figure it out.
June 19, 2013 at 10:12 AM
Michelle D. Argyle said…
I adore Feedly ... been using it for about 5 months now, but that's just me I guess. :)

I'm kind of glad the Follow thing will go away. When I created my new website on Wordpress, I thought I'd lose traffic because of the no-follow box, but I actually have more traffic now, which I find interesting.
June 19, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Rachel Schieffelbein said…
I hate technology so much. This is the kind of thing that makes me think, maybe I'll just stop blogging so I don't have to deal with this. :-P
June 19, 2013 at 10:22 AM
Blue Skies said…
Thanks for the tips!!
June 19, 2013 at 10:48 AM
Sheena-kay Graham said…
I still have to complete my Bloglovin switch. Thanks for the reminder.
June 19, 2013 at 11:10 AM
Elizabeth Seckman said…
I added my bloglovin button the other day!
June 19, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Sarah Allen said…
Aw, crap. I feel crushed. I've been putting off fiddling with feedly and bloglovin because I don't to accept that it's all going away, but...*sigh* guess that's what I'll do tomorrow.

Sarah Allen
(From Sarah, With Joy)
June 19, 2013 at 5:37 PM
Charlie N. Holmberg said…
Are you serious?? I had no idea! Bummer...
June 19, 2013 at 9:06 PM
J E Fritz said…
Aw, no more Friend Connect? How lame. They're really sticking it to us bloggers.
June 19, 2013 at 9:13 PM
John Wiswell said…
Wow, thanks for the heads up! I didn't know that the Friends were poofing as well. That's an even bigger bummer. Will have to check Bloglovin' out.
June 19, 2013 at 10:48 PM
Livia Peterson said…
I think I'll sign up for Bloglovin' to manage the blogs I follow. Thanks for the tip, Jennie!
June 20, 2013 at 6:45 PM
Heather R. Holden said…
GFC is going away, too?! Ack. Makes me even more glad that I signed up for Bloglovin' a couple months ago!
June 21, 2013 at 12:59 AM
Mark said…
I heard about this, but totally forgot. Thanks for the reminder:)
June 21, 2013 at 12:05 PM
Stina said…
I heard the Friends Connect wasn't going away. Hmmm. How confusing!!!

I'm on bloglovin' but I still have to Claim my blog. *runs off to do that*
June 24, 2013 at 7:42 AM
Jeff Hargett said…
Thanks for the GFC tip! I guess we should all grab BlogLovin' and Feedly buttons ASAP. Change is the only constant, right?

I've been using Feedly for a while. They updated the interface recently and I like much more now.
June 24, 2013 at 8:47 PM
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