<story><title>Desperate times call for desperate measures</title><url>http://blog.theoldreader.com/post/56798895350/desperate-times-call-for-desperate-measures</url><text></text></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>sitharus</author><text>I don&amp;#x27;t understand why they don&amp;#x27;t want to charge for it. It will slow down signups and give them funding to scale up. They could also use invite-style signups like LiveJournal did back in the day.&lt;p&gt;I didn&amp;#x27;t sign up for the old reader because having to pay for it was at the top of my requirements, on the basis that people are more likely to keep things going if you&amp;#x27;re paying for them. Not always true I know, but it does hold some weight.</text></comment>
<story><title>Desperate times call for desperate measures</title><url>http://blog.theoldreader.com/post/56798895350/desperate-times-call-for-desperate-measures</url><text></text></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>stevejohnson</author><text>I kicked the tires after the Google Reader announcement, but it was always apparent that the team wasn&amp;#x27;t able to keep up with the rush of new users. I think the best outcome here would be a sale to a more dedicated party, but regardless of that, I can see why they would want to take this route.&lt;p&gt;They&amp;#x27;re working on a free service for love. They deserve to do that on their own terms.</text></comment>