I wasn’t going to write about Ideas of March this year. I wasn’t even sure it was an idea worth spreading last year. It’s important to me, but I’m struggling to blog as often as I’d like, so I’m hardly setting a good example.

Then, Google decided to shut down Google Reader. If you were subscribed to their blog, you probably read about it there. Otherwise, you probably read about it on Twitter or Facebook. Food for thought.

Many people are upset. Far more than I would have guessed. Others believe the decision makes sense, because RSS is niche. That might be true, but it seems like an awfully big niche, especially if you account for those who use it but don’t know it. Marco Arment thinks Google’s decision is excellent news:

It may suck in the interim before great alternatives mature and become widely supported, but in the long run, trust me: this is excellent news.

That might also be true, but it feels like we’re going to be taking a few steps back in order to go forward.

I don’t really have much to say other than it’s a bummer. The more I see stuff getting shut down, the more I believe in the value of owning your own data. That’s the real lesson here.

I use Twitter every day, but real writing happens on blogs, and as cool as the next new thing might seem, it’s not as good as your own blog. You never know when it’s going to disappear.

Make your blog the best startup of this year. I’ll do my best to join you.