The Decline of Desktop RSS Readers
The latest Read/WriteWeb poll has highlighted some interesting trends. We asked what type of RSS Reader do you use the most? Here are the results so far, from nearly 900 respondents:
1. Web-based (e.g. Bloglines, Google Reader, Rojo) 55% (495 votes)
2. Desktop (e.g. FeedDemon, NetNewsWire) 18% (160 votes)
3. Start page (e.g. Netvibes, Pageflakes) 14% (125 votes)
4. Browser (e.g. Firefox Live Bookmarks, IE, Flock) 7% (62 votes)
5. Portal-based (e.g. MyYahoo, ThePortNetwork) 2% (21 votes)
6. Other (please comment) 2% (18 votes)
7. Email-based client (e.g. Thunderbird, Newsgator) 1% (11 votes)
8. I subscribe to emails from individual blogs 0% (3 votes)
Even though desktop RSS Readers are second-most popular, only 18% of the poll respondents use desktop readers as their primary means of accessing RSS feeds - well behind the 55% who use browser-based readers like Bloglines and Google Reader. A quick check of my site's Feedburner stats confirms that desktop readers are in the minority. In case you're wondering, Bloglines and Netvibes are most used by R/WW readers - although note that Google Reader stats are not currently counted by Feedburner and also Rojo has been temporarily removed. So Feedburner is under-counting RSS subscribers currently.
Also note that start pages are not far behind desktop readers, with 14% of the vote. Even taking into account the controversial figures bandied around by start pages about their user numbers (the latest I've heard about Netvibes, for example, is 10 Million users - which seems an awful lot), start pages are undoubtedly becoming widely used, amongst the tech set especially, for reading feeds.
Browsers are becoming more popular too, with 7% - and this is bound to increase when IE7 hits full effect later this year.
Interested in your thoughts on these trends - please add to the discussion in the comments below. Also here is the poll, which we'll leave open for a little longer...
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NetNewsWire was my choice in feed readers for a long time, but the web-based readers have won me over. I tried to use Bloglines, but the interface never sat well with me. Then, when NewsGator bought NetNewsWire, I switched to using NewsGator Online.
But, all that changed with the latest version of Google Reader. I've migrated all my subscriptions to Google, and swear by their interface. It is by far the best web-based reader.
I keep NetNewsWire around, but the only subscriptions I maintain with it are to private feeds on the LAN.
Posted by: Jared Hanson | January 25, 2007 3:39 PM
I use Firefox 2's Live Bookmarks for my feeds. When I read this post I took a trip over to Google Reader and watched intro video and set up the same feeds I have on my browser with the reader. I haven't used it extensively, and I'm sure the 55% use it for good reason, but I can't think of a better solution for feeds than the browser implementation. It's completely unobtrusive in that you don't have to navigate away from whatever page you're viewing. I guess the downside is that there is only so much room for the Live Bookmarks. I end up having to use some odd acronyms to fit all my feeds.
Posted by: Steve Moncada | January 25, 2007 3:54 PM
I am a big RSS fan and a news junky. I spent some time looking into all the various options for readers and really never liked the offerings. That was until I found Netvibes. It is such a useful tool in so many ways and can really harness the power of rss feeds. I even implemented a Netvibes page for a graduate class I attended last semester.
I was intrigued by the recent updates to google reader and there are some cool things about it and it really does have the best UI of the web based offerings. I just could not step away from Netvibes as it has become such an integral tool in my tech life. I am always amazed to see these articles stating that these start pages still have a ways to go. Everytime I introduce Netvibes to friends they are hooked within weeks. No I don't work for Netvibes... :)
Posted by: Matt Albert | January 25, 2007 3:55 PM
Not a good statistic for those who believe that rich-client applications (Apollo etc) are going to take off. People are migrating away from traditional desktop apps to the web environment. 71% of respondents are using some kind of web based feed reader (ie, Web-Based + Portal + Start Page)!
Posted by: Nick Lothian | January 25, 2007 4:02 PM
IM-based
Posted by: stan | January 25, 2007 4:14 PM
There are some influencing factors to consider. Desktop RSS readers are not always free, some of those that are free are add-ins to Outlook which is not as popular in the consumer space as it would within a corporate environment.
The results make sense for consumer use. Enterprise use I imagine would be different - as adoption grows behind the firewall, I would expect to see IE7 and Outlook pop up a lot more.
Posted by: Mike Gotta | January 25, 2007 5:03 PM
That's a good point Mike, the most popular desktop apps are not free. Also there doesn't seem to be a really popular general-purpose desktop RSS Reader. NNW is for Mac and FeedDemon for Windows - but no standout that crosses both platforms.
Posted by: Richard MacManus | January 25, 2007 5:13 PM
Nick (#4), that was one of my first thoughts too - what does this say for rich desktop apps like those from Adobe and Microsoft?
Posted by: Richard MacManus | January 25, 2007 5:16 PM
There are so many ways to use RSS - live bookmarks and nnw can scarcely be compared. I get around 30 feeds by im/sms/email, check another 30 through netvibes throughout the day and do the heavy lifting of 1k+ in nnw. they really can be complimentary - diff rss tools fill diff functions. fun conversation but if you r only using 1 of these tool types yer missing out. maybe i'm crazy though.
Posted by: Marshall Kirkpatrick | January 25, 2007 5:38 PM
Almost 70% of users are using Web based (Bloglines, Rojo etc) or the Start Pages (Netvibes, Pageflakes etc).
I am not suprised that even though Portal based also would fall in the category of Web Based Readers, only 2% are using them.
I use both Netvibes and Rojo and keep switching between them because each has its own benefits. While Netvibes gives me the concise summary (& a newspaper feel) for my feeds categorized in different tabs, Rojo allows me to tag the same feed with multiple tags (I haven’t come across any Web-based reader that does it so well).
Posted by: Pradeep Sethi | January 25, 2007 6:16 PM
Marshall and Pradeep, I agree they can be complementary. I too use a combo of start page and full RSS Reader (Google Reader right now).
Posted by: Richard MacManus | January 25, 2007 6:22 PM
I use FeedDemon at home and work, but I use NewsGator Online whenever I don't have access to my PCs...
Posted by: Chris Harrison | January 25, 2007 6:22 PM
I suspect your poll is geek centric too! This should benefit native RSS readers which are more popular among geeks.
Posted by: Randy Charles Morin | January 25, 2007 8:48 PM
Being that Start Pages and Portals are just another style of Web-Based feed reader, one could say that 71% use a Web-Based reader. That's really high. If you combine the Desktop & Browser based (since they both run off the computer itself and are thus 2 forms of the same approach), they'd be only 25%. Web-Based is about 3X's the amount. Huge gap.
I think portals and start pages are the future of RSS & Atom, because they're much more user friendly and easier to grasp. I've tried to introduce a few people who are half techy to places like Google Reader or Bloglines, and they just "don't get" it. That surprises me. Yet, the front page of AOL, Yahoo, or something like that...they easily use and configure.
Posted by: Devon | January 25, 2007 10:39 PM
We use different computers during the week (work, home...). And we want to be up to date. Then using on-line readers seems to be a good solution. And probably the trend for future.
Posted by: Flammae Long | January 26, 2007 3:11 AM
I have been on Netvibes since it launched and I absolutley love it as an rss farm. I like to have as few programs running at once and having netvibes in a firefox tab accomplishes multiple things at once.
Posted by: Chance McClain | January 26, 2007 7:44 AM
I've used several Web-based readers and the biggest limiting factor for me is that they're simply not as efficient at plowing through a large quantity of feeds. NetNewsWire has an amazinglyl efficient interface, and it allows me to sift through information more rapidly. I also like the dead-simple manner in which NNW lets me add and sort feeds. NNW wins for me because it saves me time.
Posted by: Erik | January 26, 2007 8:33 AM
I use FeedDemon, but it syncs with my NewsGator Online account, so I can use a web-based reader if I need to. I use the web-based (mobile) version Newsgator has when I'm on my Blackberry. All these sync with each other.
However, in Feedburner, this all looks like I am using Newsgator Online. Newsgator Online is the central holding spot and it syncs with other apps. Newsgator owns FeedDemon and NetNewsWire. I suspect there are a sizable amount of people using the desktop clients, but Feedburner stats don't show it. Feedburner will still show NewsGator Online.
Posted by: Scott | January 26, 2007 9:22 AM
If FeedDemon would make a version for Mac, I'd happily keep using a desktop RSS reader but until that days arrives, I'll be using Google Reader.
Posted by: Mark Evans | January 26, 2007 6:32 PM
I use the Sage extension for Firefox and have never thought of replacing it, even though i've tried all these others mentioned. Sage is flawless, can site beside any web page i have open, or i can close it and access it's button from the toolbar. I use Alien 6 on my phone, i have MobiPocket--which is great--on my ppc, but i want an rss reader "right there" that allows me to switch to the actual site when on the PC. Sage does that with Firefox seamlessly.
Posted by: David Gray | January 26, 2007 9:19 PM
Though it's becoming decreasingly relevant in the ever more wirelessly networked world, I'm really interested in a reader that could sync with my Google Reader feeds to give me offline browsing capability for when I'm commuting (on the train, of course).
Sometimes I'll have a few good hours of feeds to go through and it can be annoying to be anchored to a network drop.
Posted by: Danno | January 27, 2007 7:50 PM