Google Continues to Annoy Me

I'm using reader.

I keep sharing things.

Of course, 4 people in the world can see them.

Why? Because I don't use Google Chat. In fact, I don't know who one of my 4 people even is, which makes it even more bizarre.

So I go to see, hmm, how can I find friends who use Reader and share with them?

And the answer? I can't!

http://www.google.com/support/reader/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=83041

Yes, that's right. In order to set up a little social network of "this blog posting is cool" in Google Reader, I have to invite each person to chat with me in Gmail. I don't use chat anymore. I sort of did all the chat I could ever want to do in college and grad school, and I just... don't do it anymore.

To me, this is like Google saying, "Hey! You! Want to use this cool egg beater? Yeah? Go use our lawnmower first."

Reader and Gmail chatting are different tasks, different pools of people, different world views. Why should one be built on the other?

I think it's Google being lazy. "Bahh, who wants to build a tool for finding people."

Two thumbs down!