Everyone loves Free products, but just look at the last few weeks/months  here is a list of services or apps I use(d) that are going away
Tweetdeck (Air version)
There are others like Otixo which I used which transitioned from Freemium to paid, at which point I made a value judgement that it was not worth it to me to pay for that service.  Ultimately you get what you pay for, and when you are not paying, you are simply hoping the free service you are using continues to be there or can even financially remain viable.
Google Reader is obviously the one that hurts I have been using it since its inception back on 2005, and it us a big part of my daily workflow. Â I get a lot of information in Google Reader, and its ability to sync with mobile clients for reading on the go is valuable. Â Rather than dwell on this I am sure a suitable replacement will appear, there is clearly a need for a quality RSS reader with all the syncing, and someone will fill the void.
The bigger lesson here is I am going to have to take a look at the services/apps I use and assign them value, which are nice to have and if they go away so be it, which are important and if I am paying for or willing to pay for? Â I think of things like the Free edition of Google Apps which Google no longer offers. Â How long will it be before Google pulls the plug on that and tells me to pay or get out?
So over the next month or so I will try to better catalog what I use, and what value they have, and determine if my data or apps are right for me. Â That is the real lesson here you should do the same.
You could build a similar list for paid products too.
Hopefully Blogger is not on the list next.