Flipboard’s Federation Journey So Far
Flipboard CEO and co-founder Mike McCue declared in a previous post that “the future of Flipboard is federated.” He explained why the fediverse, an open-source ecosystem of interoperable social networks, represents a “revolution years in the making.”
“Most social media today is controlled by a few large proprietary platforms, often with leaders who value engagement at all costs, regardless of the impact on our democracies, societies and mental health,” he said. “Change is badly needed and the fediverse represents a fundamentally more open and equitable approach to social media.”
Since then, we’ve been executing on a thoughtful plan to take down Flipboard’s walls and bring all the things Flipboard and its community are good at — curating news for all your interests — to this new space. We could do this with a quick flip of the switch but we’ve chosen to act more intentionally. We’re taking measured steps to test, learn, and ensure that everything we’re doing stays true to our values and those of the fediverse. Maintaining quality is top of the list.
For reference, this is the rollout so far. We’ll keep adding to this timeline as our federation journey unfolds, in case you’re following along at home:
- Flipboard CEO Mike McCue says “The Future of Flipboard Is Federated” (2/28/23)
- Connect your Mastodon account to Flipboard (iOS) (2/28/23)
- Connect your Mastodon to Flipboard (Android) (3/30/23)
- Flipboard’s editorial curation comes to Mastodon (4/18/23) plus Art & Photo Desk (5/31/23)
- Connect Bluesky to Flipboard (5/23/23)
- Connect Pixelfed to Flipboard (6/1/23)
- First Bluesky custom feed launches: “Tech by Flipboard” (6/13/23)
- Dot Social podcast launches, featuring fediverse leaders in conversation with Mike McCue (11/21/23)
- Flipboard begins to federate profiles, starting with 25 publishers (12/18/23)
- Flipboard begins to federate publisher Magazines (2/13/24) and teaches people how to follow them (2/13/24)
- Flipboard launches Fedi Curious, a biweekly newsletter/publication on LinkedIn and Medium to help educate about the fediverse (3/7/24)
- Flipboard begins federation in Europe, with publishers in UK and Germany (3/20/24)
- Flipboard federates 11,000 Magazines by 400 creators and enthusiasts (4/11/24) and explains what it means to federate your Flipboard profile (4/4/24)
- Flipboard holds educational Webinar for creators (4/18/24)
- Over 100,000 social interactions from the fediverse to Flipboard (5/6/24)
If you’re interested in getting your Flipboard account federated, you can apply here. Please note: we are still testing and federating accounts in phases, so we’d appreciate your patience.
Our FAQ contains answers to other common questions we’ve been asked as we take down our walls and integrate with the open social web.
To learn more about the fediverse from the leaders shaping its future, check out Mike McCue’s podcast, “Dot Social.”
To learn about what Flipboard’s up to in the fediverse, sign up here.
