Google Reader founder fears Reader demise sends the wrong signal

Google Reader founder Chris Wetherell has spoken on the demise of the RSS reader and expressed his fear that it sends the wrong signal.

In an interview with Forbes, Wetherell said that if a popular product like Reader can be killed this easily, employees would think twice before approaching Google with their big ideas, and perhaps prefer leaving the search giant and go implement their ideas elsewhere.

"If you have this big idea," Wetherell said, "It might be easier to leave the company. You might feel this. I'm not sure. But someone might feel like they should just leave the company rather than finding a way to explore it within Google and then have Google say in a couple years 'It doesn't matter how many millions of people are using the thing, we've got larger concerns.'"

Wetherell, who created Reader back in 2005 when he was a Google engineer, felt if he were setting out today, he would prefer creating Reader outside Google. "I would absolutely not do it inside of Google," he said. "I would hate that to be my idea versus Google Plus. That would be very frustrating."

The man who left Google to co-found an app for couples called Avocado, says the move may harm Mountain View's ability to hire and retain talent.

"It will be interesting to watch how Google communicates to its own employees about this," Wetherell said. "If they are enticing people who are highly imaginative and creative and saying 'Don't worry, you can come in and you'll find something amazing, you'll be able to express yourself in some amazing way,' I think that might be less straight."