Published on January 9th, 2025
In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, a new idea is beginning to emerge: the concept of a decentralized, interconnected social network, often referred to as the “social web” or the “fediverse.”
Mike McCue, CEO of Flipboard, has been a vocal advocate for this transformation, envisioning a future where the internet is not defined by websites, but by feeds.
The Surf app, an innovative new tool developed by Flipboard, aims to be a central player in this transformation.
Here’s everything you need to know about this groundbreaking app and its potential to reshape how we interact with the digital world.
What is Surf?
The Surf app, often described as “the world’s first browser for the social web,” is an exciting new product from Flipboard.
It represents a significant departure from traditional social media platforms by focusing on the decentralized nature of content, allowing users to explore and discover a variety of feeds from different sources.
The app is currently in its public beta, having undergone months of testing and development.
In McCue’s vision, the social web is more than just a collection of apps like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads; it’s a way of experiencing the internet where individual feeds—rather than traditional websites—become the primary means of content consumption.
Surf’s Key Features:
- Unified Feed Exploration: Surf integrates multiple platforms, including ActivityPub (used by Mastodon and Pixelfed), AT Protocol (used by Bluesky), and traditional RSS feeds.
- Content Discovery and Curation: You can search for and follow feeds based on topics, publishers, or creators, and even curate your own personalized feed by combining others.
- Multi-Media Consumption: Surf supports a wide range of content, including videos, podcasts, blogs, and social media posts.
- Filtering and Personalization: You can filter content by media type (video, podcast, etc.), and customize feeds to meet your specific interests.
The Vision Behind Surf: Decentralized and Open
Mike McCue believes that the future of the internet lies in decentralization, where content and communities are not confined to single platforms.
He draws comparisons to the early days of the internet, where AOL acted as a walled garden, containing all the innovation within its own ecosystem.
Surf, according to McCue, is like the old-school Yahoo—allowing users to explore a collection of feeds from across the social web.
The ultimate goal is to make the internet more open, transparent, and less reliant on traditional websites and platforms. In this vision, feeds become the new standard. Instead of visiting individual websites like theverge.com, users can simply follow the ActivityPub feed for The Verge.
Key Features of the Social Web:
- Open and Decentralized: The social web, as envisioned by McCue, is an open space where content is not confined to one platform but can be accessed through various sources.
- Feed-Centric: Content is delivered through dynamic feeds, such as those found on platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads, rather than traditional websites.
How Surf Works: A New Way to Experience the Internet
Curated Feeds and Content Discovery
Surf’s main purpose is to help users discover and explore feeds from various sources. With Surf, users can access:
- Social Media Feeds: Platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads all contribute to the decentralized web, and Surf aggregates these into a single, easily navigable space.
- RSS Feeds: Traditional websites and blogs can still contribute to the social web by offering RSS feeds that can be included in Surf.
- Podcasts and Videos: Surf also supports a wide range of media, including podcasts and videos, allowing for a more immersive content consumption experience.
Filters and Personalization
One of the most eye-opening features of Surf is its ability to filter and personalize feeds.
For example, users can create a feed combining their favorite podcasts, blogs, and YouTube channels, and then filter that feed to show only videos, podcasts, or written content.
This functionality helps users tailor their content to their preferences, without being overwhelmed by irrelevant posts.
- Video Feeds: Surf presents videos in an endless scroll, much like TikTok, making it easy to browse through content.
- News Feeds: Posts with links are formatted like news articles, with large images and headlines for easy reading.
- Interactive Feeds: Although still in development, Surf’s interactive features are geared towards making social media engagement more seamless across different platforms.
The Challenges of Combining Multiple Platforms
While the concept of aggregating multiple platforms into one app is promising, it does come with challenges. Surf is still in its beta phase, and search functionality can be a bit messy.
For example, users might find multiple profiles with similar names or struggle to distinguish between different types of content.
Additionally, interactive features are still under development and work best for certain platforms like Mastodon. For other platforms, like YouTube or Bluesky, social interactions are either broken or non-existent for now.
Despite these challenges, Surf is already proving itself to be a valuable consumption tool. It brings together a wide variety of media formats in a way that no other app currently does.
The Social Web: An Evolution of the Internet
McCue is convinced that the social web is not just the future of social media, but of the internet itself. In his view, the current internet is stuck in the “old web,” where walled gardens like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter dominate.
The social web, by contrast, promises a decentralized future where users can freely explore feeds from various platforms and creators.
Surf as the Catalyst for Change
McCue envisions Surf as the gateway to this new era of the internet. The app allows for:
- Cross-Platform Feeds: Feeds from different platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads can be aggregated in one place, making it easier for users to follow their favorite creators, publishers, and communities.
- Monetization for Creators: Surf will also support paid feeds, allowing creators and curators to monetize their content and earn revenue from their followers.
What’s Next for Surf?
While the current version of Surf is a beta, McCue’s team is working hard to iron out the kinks and expand the app’s functionality.
Features like custom feed designs, better filtering options, and improved search functionality are all in the pipeline.
For now, Surf is primarily a content consumption tool, but its future holds the potential to evolve into a fully interactive social experience.
As more users adopt the app, it could become the go-to platform for decentralized content discovery, seamlessly integrating the best aspects of social media, news, podcasts, and videos into a single feed-based experience.
Conclusion: A New Era for the Social Web
Mike McCue’s vision for the social web is ambitious, but Surf is already making strides toward realizing it.
By focusing on decentralized content and feed-based discovery, Surf is helping to shape the future of the internet.
While the app is still in its early stages, its potential to change how we experience and engage with the digital world is undeniable.
As Surf continues to evolve and more platforms and creators join the decentralized web, it may very well become the central hub for discovering and interacting with content across the social web.
The future of the internet is here, and Surf is at the forefront of this exciting new era.
