Social reader app Flipboard has already gathered a substantial base of more than 50-million happy flipping users, who can subscribe to read beautiful magazines constructed from social media updates and RSS feeds. But it’s not finished with the community just yet: its app experience has now become even more personalised with the addition of new features which allow its users to make their own custom magazines.
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Yep. If you’re bored with the seemingly endless Flipboard-curated categories covering everything from DIY to news, tech, travel and sport, you can now create your own magazine from whichever social media and online sources you wish. In a bid to make everyone an editor as well as a reader, the new version (which hit Apple’s App Store today) has introduced a new ‘+’ button which allows users to quickly add a video, article, photo or audio clip to their own magazines. Unfortunately, it just extends to individual posts at this stage, not entire feeds.
Capitalising on niche interests, these magazines can be set as public or private, and shared, subscribed to and commented on by other users. Flipboard is also helping to promote the shift to user-curated content by highlighting interesting new user-curated magazines through a new ‘By Our Readers’ section in its content discovery section. The section is already stocked with options touching on topics from Coachella to street art to memes, created by beta testers which include small business owners, bloggers and um, Linkin Park.
Some of the other new updates include:
- A redesigned content guide featuring a customised table of contents, your own magazines and notifications.
- The ability to comment on stories and @mention other Flipboard users.
- A recommended reading section which suggests more to read based on your social interactions.
The new version, which the team is calling Flipboard 2.0, is also accompanied by the launch of a bookmarklet which lets users quickly add web pages to their magazines from their iPhone, iPad or desktop browser. The Android version of the new app is still in the works.
