“Embracing the Fediverse: Flipboard Expands its Connections with the Open Source Social Web”

On Thursday, the company announced it’s expanding its fediverse integrations to 400 more Flipboard creators and introducing fediverse notifications in the Flipboard app itself. In total, Flipboard says there are now over 11,000 curated Flipboard magazines available to federated social networking users. In addition to the newly federated magazines, Flipboard is also bringing a more integrated fediverse experience to its own app. 4.3.25), Flipboard users will be able to see their new followers from the fediverse in their Flipboard Following tab, while their Flipboard notifications will now include fediverse reactions and conversations. The company had already begun curating content for fediverse users across a handful of “news desks” (dedicated fediverse accounts) that directed users to interesting articles and links across topics.

Flipboard, a Web 2.0-era social magazine app, is undergoing a transformation to embrace the rising popularity of an open social web. As part of this evolution, the company is strengthening its connection to the fediverse – a network of interconnected servers that includes popular apps like Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube, and Instagram Threads, among others. In its latest announcement, Flipboard revealed that it will extend its integrations to include 400 more creators and introduce fediverse notifications within its app.

The new feature will allow Flipboard users to stay updated on their fediverse activity, including new followers and other interactions, directly within the Flipboard app. This development follows the app’s integration with Mastodon last year, replacing Twitter, and its support for ActivityPub, the protocol that powers decentralized social networks such as Mastodon.

In February, Flipboard announced its plan to add its creators and their social magazines to the fediverse, granting them a wider audience for their curated content. This move saw the addition of 1,000 Flipboard magazines to the federation. With the new expansion, 400 more magazines will be available to federated social networking users, bringing the total to over 11,000 curated Flipboard magazines.

“This is a significant step towards fully federating our platform,” stated Flipboard CEO, Mike McCue. “We are not only making curated content viewable on Flipboard, but also enabling two-way communication for users to engage with fediverse communities. Personally, I am excited to see my curation reach new audiences who share similar interests.”

The recently federated accounts include those with one or two public magazines that have been actively curated in the past 30 days and have no trust or safety violations. These accounts have also participated in Flipboard’s community programs and will receive an email notification about their new federated status.

As Flipboard continues to work towards federating all user accounts by default, individuals can choose to “unfederate” by disabling the “Federate” button in their Flipboard settings.

Along with the expanded federation, Flipboard is also enhancing the fediverse experience within its own app. With the latest update, version 4.3.25, Flipboard users can now view their new followers from the fediverse in their Following tab, and their notifications will include fediverse interactions and conversations.

The notification window has also been updated, with three distinct sections: Replies, Activity, and News. In Replies, users can respond to posts from both Flipboard and the fediverse, as well as @mentions from other federated platforms. These replies will be sent back to the fediverse, effectively making Flipboard a comprehensive fediverse client app. The Activity tab will display likes, follows, and boosts (equivalent to retweets) from the fediverse, alongside other Flipboard activity. The News section, previously known as Content, will now showcase breaking news and recommended stories from Flipboard’s editorial team.

Additionally, Flipboard has curated content for fediverse users through their “news desks,” dedicated accounts that direct users to interesting articles and links related to various topics. These include a general news desk, as well as desks for Tech, Culture, and Science. This existing curation will now contribute to the revamped News section in the Flipboard app.