Facebook launching news reader - not RSS, claims report

Facebook launching news reader - not RSS, claims report

A report by TechCrunch claims that, following earlier reports, Facebook is indeed working on a news reader, but it will not be based on RSS and therefore will not be a replacement for the soon-closing Google Reader.

An earlier report by TechCrunch predicted the reader would launch at Facebook's press event on June 20, and a separate report in The Wall Street Journal claimed the rumored service would be called "Reader" and function as a Flipboard competitor.

However TechCrunch published a new report on June 24 in which it claims it "can now confirm Facebook has indeed been working on a news-reading interface." TechCrunch cites an unnamed source in the report and, though few details are known, the report clarifies that Facebook's new reader will not be based on RSS and therefore will not be in competition with the host of other RSS readers aiming to replace Google's Reader (which will close July 1).

The site also claims to be able to confirm that the project has been under development for a while and, as was reported in The Wall Street Journal, is being led by Mike Matas. Matas is well known for his user interface design and joined Facebook in 2011 after it acquired the startup he co-founded, Push Pop Press.

The source cited on TechCrunch is quoted as stating the reader is "not a competitive response" either to RSS readers, such as DIGG's Feedly, or the more visual Flipboard.

However apart from these details very little else, including a release date, is known about Facebook's news reader project.


Read the full report on TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/24/facebook-reader-details

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