One of the great things that the web has brought us is the ability to find and create content for people to read. With blog services, magazine curation, and other social media apps, the web has given the average person the ability to create something of quality, using just the web. Before, you had to work for a company that would provide you with the tools to create good quality on the web or really know how to use the web tools, whereas now, just about anyone can do this.
Take for example Flipboard, who has come on to become a solid application for both reading and now curating content for others. When they first started out, they came onto the scene with a solid iPad app to consume your RSS feeds and other news that you wanted to know about. Slowly over time, they opened up a new side of their business by not only letting the average user consume content, but gave them the ability to curate it as well.
Now, they have opened this up even further to expand to the web, which has now created an application that can be used by many more people. Let’s take a look at Flipboard for the Web and see how this can be used in a variety of different ways.
Creating Content On The Web
When it comes to creating content on Flipboard, it has evolved from being able to do this only on the iPad, to now being able to do it on the web. There are a couple of different ways to do this. The first way to do this is by installing the Flip It button to your favorite browser’s bookmark bar. Then you can start creating and adding to your Flipboard magazines when you come across articles, photos, or videos that you want to share. You can either add it to a current magazine that you have created or you can start a new one.
Adding an article from the web to Flipboard
The second way to create content using the web is a new feature to Flipboard on the web. Now that you can start reading magazines on the web, which we will get into in a minute here, as you are perusing if you find an article that you want to add there is a “+” button next to it that you can click on. This will then add it to your collection for others to read.
Adding an article from within Flipboard on the web
Consuming Content On the Web
This is the aspect of Flipboard that most recently came to fruition that has now made it even more user friendly. Before this, the only way that you could read magazines was through their mobile platforms. I had always wondered when they would come over to the web, as that was their next natural move.
When you want to read a magazine on the web, all you have to do is go to the web link for a specific one. From there the layout will look very similar to how the magazine would look like on a mobile device. In order to flip through your magazine all you have to do is scroll up or down on your mouse. If you want to read a specific article, you can click on the title and you will be taken to the actual webpage where it originally came from. You can also choose to subscribe to a magazine and once you do this it will automatically show up on your mobile device as well.
Reading content on Flipboard for the web
There are a couple of other features worth mentioning when it comes to reading with Flipboard on the web. The first being is that as you are reading a magazine, you can also peruse through other magazines that are the day’s top picks in a variety of categories. If you find one that you like, you can click on it and be taken straight to that magazine. Another minor feature worth noting is that magazines can be shared by anyone to both Twitter and Facebook, as well as email. You will also see the link that you can share with others.
Browsing today’s picks from other readers
Just A Tease….
I was somewhat excited to see that Flipboard is starting to make a move toward the web, but I also have mixed feelings as I feel like they are really moving very cautiously. I don’t know what their overall vision is for the web, so I can’t really criticize them too much, but I would love to see the web version be on par with the mobile version. For example, with my iPad, I can read articles within Flipboard and it doesn’t take me outside, which I really like. Secondly, there is no way to interact socially with specific articles that I would love to be able to do.
I would love to see Flipboard adopt the web and make it a full fledged magazine curation application, where not only can you grab content from the web, but you can also create your own content. I am not sure if that is an eventual goal, but I would love to see them go there because I do think they have a good looking platform, but they have a ways to get there. I don’t fault them for taking the web access slow, but I do think the web is going to only help them to increase curation as well as readership.
Final Thoughts
As much as I am on the fence about the moves that Flipboard has made to get to the web, I am still glad they are going there. This gives even more users the ability to create content and to use Flipboard for a variety of purposes. In my opinion, that can only be a good thing. Although I will admit, that I am somewhat nervous that they have no transparent strategy to monetize Flipboard. Again, who knows, maybe in the back rooms of the people who lead the team; they have some kind of strategy in mind. Here is to hoping they do plan to extend the web version and make it on par with all their other platforms, as I would love to see them stick around and continue to create a quality platform for consuming and creating content for others to read.
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