Introduction

In a groundbreaking move aimed at enhancing the landscape of online news consumption, the popular social magazine app Flipboard has acquired nearly 100 mirrored accounts from Press.coop, a service designed to promote news access across the open social web, better known as the fediverse. This transition, announced on Thursday, signifies Flipboard's commitment to create a more interconnected news ecosystem, especially on platforms like Mastodon that compete with mainstream social media giants like Twitter/X.

The Role of Press.coop

Press.coop, launched just a year ago by Hello.coop under the leadership of Dick Hardt, sought to bridge the gap between traditional news outlets and audiences on the fediverse. With reputable publishers such as Reuters, AP, WSJ, NYT, BBC, and CNN on board, Press.coop initially mirrored Twitter/X accounts to broaden access to quality journalism. However, when Twitter imposed stricter API regulations alongside increased prices, Press.coop pivoted to utilize RSS feeds to keep the news flowing.

Mirrored Accounts and Their Impact

The mirrored accounts, which functioned as bots delivering real-time news updates, successfully attracted substantial followings—NPR's account alone boasted 10,000 followers. Despite the lack of direct partnerships, the transition of these accounts to Flipboard aligns perfectly with the needs of news consumers, publishers, and Flipboard, allowing Hardt to focus on future ventures.

Flipboard's Growing Federated Presence

In recent months, Flipboard has made significant strides toward becoming a federated application. The integration with ActivityPub, the underlying protocol for Mastodon and similar platforms, enables Flipboard users to follow and engage with Mastodon accounts directly. Additionally, user-generated news magazines are now accessible on the fediverse, diversifying content and reach.

Dedicated News Desks on Mastodon

Furthermore, in 2023, Flipboard enhanced its presence on Mastodon by launching dedicated news "desks" aimed at curating content across various sectors like tech, culture, and science, moving beyond automated accounts to offer intentional editorial efforts. These desks actively share insights on Flipboard’s dedicated Mastodon server, Flipboard.social.

Amplifying Engagement Metrics

The acquisition of Press.coop accounts amplifies Flipboard's previous initiatives. By merging these federated accounts, publishers utilizing the Flipboard app will not only enhance their engagement metrics but will also see their existing followers complemented by the audience from the Press.coop accounts, allowing for a greater influx of readers.

Conclusion and Future Outlook

Announcing the closure of Press.coop, Hardt expressed, "As we observed that Flipboard has been providing similar content to the fediverse, we decided to align with them and transfer all Press.coop accounts to related Flipboard publisher accounts, optimizing our mutual reach." The final migration is expected to conclude by the end of the month.

This development could revolutionize how news reaches diverse audiences online. Stay tuned as Flipboard paves the way for an enriched and collaborative news-sharing environment in the fediverse! Don't miss out—this is just the beginning of a new chapter in digital journalism!