Google Gchat.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Those of us still recovering from the Google Reader massacre might want to sit down to read this one. Starting in June, Google will kill off yet another of its most beloved products — this time, the instant messaging app Google Talk, better known as "Gchat," New York reports.

Gchat first launched in 2005 as a hip alternative to AOL Instant Messenger and it persisted due to its simplicity and ease of use. Google will still offer its other instant messaging platform called Hangouts, and Gchat users who haven't already transitioned will seamlessly be rolled over to the service when Gchat pings its last ping on June 26. Hangouts is actually not a new service; it has been around for about four years, and is a glitzier messaging app (you can doodle in it, for example).

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.