Yesterday, Google Reader breathed its last breath.

Many of us at Author Media used Google Reader for years in order to keep up with all of our favorite blogs. We know many of you did so as well.

With that knowledge, we felt it was only fitting to honor Google Reader for the impact it has had in our lives. Here’s what we imagine Google Reader’s obituary would sound like.

A Google Reader Obituary

Google Reader (sometimes referred to simply as “Reader”) was laid to rest on Monday, July 1, 2013. It was seven years, eight months, and 24 days old at the time of its death. Reader, a happy resident of Mountain View, CA, was declared to have a terminal illness on March 13, 2013. Despite heroic efforts by its users to bring it back from the brink of the grave, Reader was taken off life support on July 1.

Life

Google Reader was born on October 7, 2005, the child of a small team at Google headed by engineer Chris Wetherell. Reader attended Google Labs University and graduated with honors on September 17, 2007. Fellow graduates of Google Labs University included Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Wave.

While at GLU, Reader started providing a much needed service to Internet users across the globe: a simple way to read all their favorite blogs in one place. Suddenly, an activity that used to take hours could be done in a matter of minutes. Demand for Reader’s services grew, and over the course of its career, it added several new functionalities such as unread counts, support for video content, and sharing options. Many authors and bloggers came to rely on Reader for their daily news and blog reading. By encouraging their visitors to subscribe via Google, subscriber counts skyrocketed for many blossoming authors, bloggers, and other professionals.

Family

Google Reader is survived by its many children and grandchildren, including Feedly, Newsblur, Digg Reader, AOL Reader, Netvibes, The Old Reader, Pulse, Flipboard, Zite, Google Currents, Reeder, and Taptu. Because Google Reader didn’t leave behind a will, there has been some debate as to who is entitled to Reader’s remaining assets. At the time of this writing, it appears as though Feedly will be the recipient of most of Reader’s estate, with the remaining parts split between the other children.

Memorial

At this time, there is no memorial service planned. In leiu of flowers, charitable donations can be made to Reading is Fundamental or to your local children’s literacy organization. Google Reader helped us read our favorite blogs; now it’s our turn to help children learn to read.

Do you have a fond memory of Google Reader? Or do you just want to express how much you enjoyed it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.