2011 has proved to be a major year for Google products. There were new things introduced, with the most prominent being Google+. Google has to make it sure that its new social network is a success, as the previous attempts to build up an effective social network (Orkut, Google Buzz) were some how thought to be failed.
To make the success obvious, Google is integrating its new social platform within its every product, to give a new feel, to how we take up things online. As every other Google product are getting an overhaul, may it be Blogger, YouTube etc, it is now Google Reader which is to be placed into the factory.
As Google being the online giant, it has a huge role in setting, how things work in different circles of life, online and offline. It seemed that people in Iran were quite into Google reader. As mentioned by Amir on Amirhm.com, Iranians use Google Reader as their only source, the true one, by which they could speak out their minds to the world.
Amir believes, that government has banned most of the social networks and forums, where Iranians could connect to the world and share their feelings. He mentions that other social sites like Facebook, Twitter could be easily blocked by the authorities while Google Reader was backed with secure URL beginning http, as Google reader isn't a separate domain and instead it was a Google extension, (www.google.com/reader)Google Reader is more like a hidden social outlet to the Iranians where people like VahidOnline, with 7500 followers, share a thought which further turns out to be a popular discuss platform.
As a part of Google reader overhaul, it is belived that users would loose their friends list. For that Brett Keller has created a petition, to save the social features of Google Reader. Despite the 4000 signatures to the petition, it is hard to bias Google, which is set to promote its new social network, the Google+
Guest Post by Hassam Ahmad Awan. MBT's Gold Star Guest Author.
