Flipboard Launches ‘Social Websites’ for Creators
from decentralized platforms and feeds into a single, controlled hub.
TAGS: Flipboard, Social Media, Creators, Tech News, Decentralized Web
CONTEUDO:
Flipboard is betting on a new model for online community building with the introduction of “social websites.” The platform, which has increasingly focused on decentralized social media, launched this feature to give publishers and individual creators a centralized space to aggregate their digital footprint.
The new tool allows users to pull content from various sources, including newsletters, podcasts, video channels, and social profiles from platforms like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads. By doing so, creators can curate a single destination for their audience without the limitations of traditional, algorithm-heavy social media feeds.
According to Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, this initiative is designed to put power back into the hands of those producing the content. “Social websites help podcasters, creators and publications build communities around their work and control the experience, including the algorithm,” McCue stated in a blog post regarding the launch.
Early Adopters and Functionality
The feature functions as a web-based extension of Surf, Flipboard’s reader application. Several major media outlets have already begun utilizing these social websites to consolidate their digital presence, including:
Beyond traditional media, individual creators are also leveraging the tools. For example, David Rushing has launched All Net, a dedicated hub that tracks NBA news, game commentary, and related basketball content.
How to Build a Social Website
Setting up a social website involves a few clear steps within the Surf platform:
- Sign up at surf.social and select “+ Create Feed” from the sidebar.
- Add your preferred content sources and define a community hashtag.
- Apply specific filters to curate the incoming information.
- Use the feed header’s menu to assign a custom domain, effectively turning the feed into a standalone website.
Flipboard intends for these sites to exist independently of the Surf app, allowing them to be shared across the broader web. The company noted that this is an initial rollout, with plans to introduce more granular customization options, such as personalized headers, color schemes, and advanced feed management tools in the future.