Exploring Surf: A New Way to Browse the Social Web

Mike McCue, the CEO of Flipboard, is excited about the future of social networking. He's reimagining Flipboard as a part of what he calls the "social web, " a decentralized, open platform. To help with this vision, Flipboard is creating a new app called Surf. McCue thinks of Surf as a "browser for the social web. " Instead of visiting websites, users can browse various feeds from different platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and RSS. Surf aims to combine all these feeds into one place, making it easy to discover and explore content. The app can handle various types of content, from social media posts to news articles and podcasts. This combination creates a unique challenge for the app's design. So far, the app has been in beta testing and is set to launch publicly soon.One standout feature of Surf is its ability to filter feeds. Users can create personalized feeds with their favorite content and filter it by type, like videos or podcasts. However, the app isn't yet a full-featured social platform. It's better suited for consumption rather than interaction. McCue envisions Surf as a new beginning for the internet, similar to old-web platforms like AOL and Yahoo. He wants to make it possible for publishers and creators to monetize their feeds. Despite the challenges ahead, McCue remains optimistic about Surf's potential to bring different platforms together.