Flipboard's new app for browsing the open social web
Social magazine app maker Flipboard is reinventing itself through the new app, Surf. Surf weaves Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, RSS feeds, podcasts, and YouTube into something that wouldn’t have been possible until recently.
Hi PH Family,
I'm excited to share that Flipboard has unveiled Surf, a new app designed for exploring and navigating the open social web. Built to bring together decentralized networks and public content, Surf offers a fresh approach to content discovery and customization. Here’s a closer look at its features:
* Browsing the Open Social Web: Surf integrates open protocols like RSS, ActivityPub, and AT Protocol to unify content from platforms such as Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads, along with blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, and other public web content.
Users can easily discover, follow, and engage with a diverse range of content sources in one place.
* Customizable Feeds: Surf allows users to create highly personalized feeds tailored to specific interests, whether it’s emerging tech, fitness trends, or any niche topic.
Feeds can combine real-time searches, hashtags, RSS subscriptions, favorite creators, and more.
With 30,000 predefined topics, users can filter out unrelated content to ensure their feeds stay on topic.
* Multi-Tab Experience: Surf offers multiple ways to view content:
** Discuss: A social timeline for engaging with posts.
** Watch: Video browsing similar to TikTok.
** Read: News and article aggregation.
** Listen: Podcasts in an audio-focused format.
** Look: Photo galleries for visual exploration.
These options let users customize their browsing experience to suit their preferred content formats.
* Connecting Communities: Surf helps reunite fragmented communities by aggregating content from multiple platforms into a single cohesive feed, solving a common challenge in today’s decentralized web.
Currently, Surf is available in an invite-only beta on iOS and Android, with a desktop version on the way.
Early users include those experienced in creating curated feeds, like Twitter/X Lists or Bluesky Starter Packs.
Flipboard believes Surf marks the beginning of a new era for the social web, providing users with greater control, flexibility, and innovation in how they engage with content.
What features are you most excited about, and how do you see Surf fitting into your content discovery routine? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Kumar Abhishek
