Decentralization

Surf App: Your Gateway to the Decentralized Web

Ken Metral

18 Dec 2024 — 2 min read

Credit: Surf.social

Fourteen years after debuting as a “social magazine,” Flipboard is back with a new app: Surf. Designed for a decentralized social web, Surf enables users to create and share custom content feeds drawn from platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, RSS feeds, podcasts, and YouTube videos.

Unlike Flipboard’s magazine model, which required ongoing manual curation, Surf’s custom feeds are more dynamic:

Users select sources, hashtags, and topics upfront.
The feed runs on its own, continuously updating content from multiple platforms.
Feeds can combine specific people, brands, or trending subjects.

This approach allows users to weave together a mix of content types—text, videos, podcasts, and discussions—all under one umbrella.

Why Surf Matters Now

The timing is key. With Twitter’s decline under Elon Musk, interest in decentralized social platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky has surged. Unlike Big Tech’s walled gardens, these platforms operate on open protocols, such as ActivityPub, making it easier for apps like Surf to aggregate and connect content.

Flipboard CEO Mike McCue has embraced this shift, pushing Surf beyond what Flipboard could do alone. For example:

Surf lets Mastodon users follow hundreds of Flipboard magazines.
Custom feeds can blend posts from Threads, Mastodon, podcasts, and other sources into unified streams.

Features That Stand Out

Custom Feeds: Users can create feeds on any topic—AI, photography, politics, or even something as niche as “Popeye.” Feeds adapt as new content emerges.
Collaboration: Invite others to contribute to feeds using custom hashtags.
Content Filters: Fine-tune feeds by including or excluding specific topics, sources, or keywords.
Tabs for Easy Navigation: Each feed has “Watch,” “Read,” “Listen,” and “Discuss” tabs for tailored content discovery.

Challenges and Roadmap

Surf is still in its beta phase, and some features remain under development:

Sign-in support for Bluesky and Threads is on the way.
Tools to help users discover interesting custom feeds are still evolving.
Future updates will allow feeds to be published to the federated web, making them accessible outside the app.

McCue envisions Surf as a “home on the social web”, offering personalized themes and support for desktop and tablet versions in the near future.

The Bigger Picture

Flipboard’s survival over 14 years proves it has staying power. With Surf, the company is tapping into a growing demand for decentralized, user-curated social experiences—a stark contrast to the algorithm-driven chaos of traditional social networks.

By creating a seamless space to discover, organize, and share content, Surf represents a bold step toward a more open, decentralized social web. While it’s still early days, the app’s potential to reshape content discovery is clear.

As the old social networks falter, Surf offers a refreshing alternative: one where users—not algorithms—are in control.

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