The Cry Over the Loss of iGoogle and the Alternatives Available

By Alan Buckingham on October 12, 2012 - TAGS: None

Back in July Google announced several services would be phased out, a process they carry out periodically.  Mostly these are web sites and functions that the vast majority of people are not using, hence the takedown.  However, one service listed caused an almost immediate cry heard round the world.  iGoogle, the popular home page site, will cease to exist in November of 2013.  While that's still some ways off, users are already scrambling to find alternatives and lobbying the Mountain View company to reconsider and save the website.

The howls of pain have not gone unnoticed by Google.  In fact, one employee, known simply as Jessica S., started a thread in the Google Web Search Help area to discuss alternatives for the disgruntled iGoogle users.

The suggestions on this thread posted by forum members are not endorsed by Google. It’s come to our attention that some folks have been wanting to discuss alternatives to iGoogle.  This is a thread exclusively for people to exchange ideas and experiences about the alternatives.  Know that any off-topic posts will deleted, so if you wish to discuss any other aspect of iGoogle, please search the forum for the most appropriate thread and make your post there. Thanks and have fun swapping ideas!

Almost immediately a link was posted to a site known as SaveiGoogle.org.  The site is not only designed to lobby the web giant to save the popular home page service, but also provides a lengthy list of alternatives in case the worst should come to pass.  The site is growing quickly and also turning into somewhat of a search engine news blog, but the primary focus remains on saving iGoogle and, to that end, they have even planned a "Save iGoogle" day for November 2nd.

The outcry over the loss of iGoogle seems somewhat surprising to many of us, given that we have long since moved on from the days of the home page, or web portal.  For those using Chrome, the browser doesn't even contain a home page button, although one can be added.  These days most users seem more interested in opening their browser to whatever site or tabs they left off on during their previous session.

For those looking for an alternative in case Google really follows through with their threat, there is no shortage of services available, although the number has diminished quite a bit over the years as these sites have fallen out of favor.  The Save iGoogle website gives a long list, but one of the best is probably Netvibes, which Ghacks previously has looked at.