A Tip for Flipboard for the iPad That Makes It More Awesome

Flipboard_icon

If you've got an iPad then chances are you've downloaded Flipboard. (Over)-simply put, it takes content off of the Internet and presents it all in an interface not unlike Time Magazine. But the best part is it also takes the content from your social media feeds (Facebook and Twitter specifically) and puts it into Flipboard - resulting in something that makes you feel like you're reading your own personalized magazine.  Plus, it's free so there really isn't any reason to not try it. 

I'm a fan of the app, but I've recently discovered a great tip for getting an even better and more personalized experience out of it. 

In addition to your basic Twitter feed, Flipboard will also let you subscribe to all of the links and content generated by one of your Twitter groups. This doesn't seem that special, until you stop thinking of your Twitter groups as something helpful for grouping the people you follow on Twitter and start thinking of them as a way to group cool content for Flipboard.

(I should stop here and say that I completely ripped off this idea from Chicago Sun Times columnist Andy Ihatko who gave up the idea on this week's Macbreak Weekly podcast.)

The first thing you need to do is find Twitter feeds that send lots of links to content you want to read or otherwise enjoy. If you don't use Twitter, then just sign up and start following. Twitter feeds of websites seem to work best (as opposed to specific columnists for instance) because those accounts are often used specifically for sharing links to new content, though any Twitter feeds you are partial to will work. Then, just make sure that the feed is set to "Public" as opposed to "Private" and go back to Flipboard and add it as a feed.

This simple thing has easily doubled my enjoyment of Flipboard. I can still go back through my Facebook feed and see what kind of links and pictures my friends have posted, but then when I'm done I can also check out the coolest Wine/Photography/Technology/Politics/Arts iPad magazine available.

If you're interested, you can check out the list I generated (I call it "MojoList" in honor of Andy's "the-mojo-wire" where I got the idea from originally), but I would suggest you use it (or another) as a jumping off point to create your own personalized piece of awesomeness on the web.

That is, if you've got an iPad. (Trust me, Flipboard might be reason enough to get an iPad.)