Marco Arment is calling on Reeder and Black Pixel (NNW) to make a change to their RSS readers, and lead the way in encouraging Google Reader alternatives to use an API that mirrors the the Google Reader API. Thus making it easy for the many 3rd-party feed reading apps (of which Reeder and NNW are arguably two of the most popular) that so many of us use to tie in to whichever new service we pick:

Like it or not, the Google Reader API is the feed-sync “standard” today. Until this business shakes out, which could take years (and might never happen), this is the best way forward.

This would be so great for the users.

There’s not an app for that. (Via Mick.)

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My thanks to New Relic for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. Sponsorship by The Syndicate.

Not much change other than maybe a few more people using cell phone cameras.

Om Malik interviewed Reader creator, Chris Wetherell, on what went in to making Google Reader in the first place, why he’s not surprised Google is shutting the service down, and why it won’t be easy for someone else to build a successor. (Via Jim Dalrymple.)

Upcoming alternative to Google Reader from David Smith:

I’ve been working on an alternative to Google Reader for a few months now. It started as desire to manage my RSS feeds in a way that didn’t feel like I was still stuck in the web of 5 years ago. I wanted a more modern approach that focused on providing the best possible experience for navigating my news feeds. So Feed Wrangler was born.

I’ve heard a little bit about what David has planned for Feed Wrangler and it sounds fantastic. Even if Google Reader were not being shut down in a few months, Feed Wrangler looks to be an excellent move forward. I’m looking forward to it.

Ben Brooks:

I think the why is self-evident. The why is that Google doesn’t want to make anyone spend cash for their services (there are exceptions to this). So if faced with charging for Reader or shutting down Reader, shutting down Reader fits the Google mantra better than the former.

That’s scary to think about.

Last spring, Stephen Wolfram used the “automated data analysis capabilities” from Wolfram|Alpha Pro to run some analytics on the emails he’d sent, keystrokes he’d typed, and meetings he’d had over the past couple of decades.

The first thing I noticed between Wolfram’s data chart of daily emails sent and the page on this year’s Feltron Annual Report for when Felton filled out his iPhone app survey, is that both of these guys are night owls. Stephen Wolfram goes to sleep around 3:00am, and Nicholas Felton around 1:00am.

I’m a huge fan of Nicholas Felton’s design chops. I’ve been buying his annual reports since 2007, and they’re always interesting and inspiring. They also have a tendency to sell out. So if you want one, don’t wait around.

For extra credit, check out this short piece Mark Wilson wrote for Fast Co. Design about the custom-built iPhone app Felton used to record all his data points for this year’s report.

And for even more extra credit, check out Nicholas Felton’s sweet Mac setup from Fall 2010.

After Graham Hill made a whole lot of money selling his internet business, he bought a huge house, a 5-disc CD changer, and more. In fact, his house was so big, Graham had to hire someone to go pick out things he could buy to fill the house:

My house and my things were my new employers for a job I had never applied for.

Now Graham lives in a 420-square-foot apartment in SoHo.

It seems to me that our tendency is to accumulate and hold on to stuff. We swell to our surroundings, sometimes at the peril of our own health, finances, and/or relationships. It takes intentionality to do the opposite.

Seth Godin on honesty in your creative work:

Right now, you can choose to do what’s in your heart, you can bring your real work to the world, instead of a lesser version, a version you think the market wants.

A new Tumblr site by the National Geographic showcasing rare photos, most of which have never been published. Check out the About page, where you can see William Bonner, Guardian of the Collection and Curator of the Photography Archive, in action — no doubt picking out a rare image to be posted.

And the captions are just as great as the captures. Like this one: “A cowgirl puts a nickel in an El Paso parking meter to hitch her pony, October 1939.”

(Via Kottke.)

Hint: It wasn’t with OS X. Stephen Hackett:

Think back to the summer of 1999. People were canning fruits and vegetables in preparation of Y2K, Cher was on the radio everywhere, and people could walk around in denim vests without living in fear of being punched in the face.

The new version of Launch Center Pro brings some serious muscle. If you’re like me and are still wrapping your mind around all the things this app can do, check out Viticci’s review.