Flipboard is an RSSS Aggregator: Really Simple Social Syndication - I think i just made that up - It takes content people are sharing and aggregates it. Simple.
Rather than just stream the data, like a Tweetdeck, it brings form, order and depth to streams of data. It has a human, semantic, filter. Like Digg or Delicious. That filter just also happens to be a communication channel, Twitter.

<<<<< Backwards.

Brilliantly it does so in a comforting, somewhat pressure inducing kinda of way. It pulls it into a magazine design. One that understands hierarchy, importance of a hero story and the freshness of a new visual page to stay interested. Its interface is a welcome friend.

>>>>> Forwards.

This is linked data. Multiple sources coming together to build a bespoke lens on any subject. It can follow my group of friends. Sure that's cool. Friend magazine. But what i find more exciting is the way it follows lists. Lists have been a bit odd on twitter. No one really knowing the value (which is exactly how people have thought of Twitter itself). With Flipboard lists are powerful editorial tools. Inputs in a list are like staff writers in a magazine. I'm the editor, who do i want to hear from. Fundamentally i am curating my own magazine, on any subject i choose, from the massive amounts of focused chatter from brands and individuals out there on Twitter, and behind twitter on blogs etc. Wow. That is powerful.

This powerful way of engaging is slightly in the past. Twitter is mostly immediate. You are in the conversation. What is being said now. Flipbook seems more about what's just been said. It's only a few seconds behind perhaps, but that's a crucial difference. It's a reflective position. I like it. I think it's good for blood pressure.
If i want to be in the mosh pit i can. I can use tweet deck. And i will at times. If i want to be in a comfy seat at the back, still involved, but more at my own control. I can.
It's probably not all that healthy to always look at the Matrix anyway.

>>>>> Forwards.

Really though this isn't an aggregator. It's a platform. A content platform that reinvents the nature of a magazine. How brands begin to play here will be interesting. They will need to add value.
Will brands continue to create bespoke magazine apps - Wired, Virgin's Maverick, The Sun. Or will the seek to integrate into a system like Flipboard where the infrastructure is provided and they can concentrate on making good content people want.
Will they continue to give blog content for free when it can be negotiated at a price to add proper focused editorial to chatter?
It makes me think about Reuters.

<<<<< Backwards.

Flipboard is free. So it will have an ad model at its heart.

>>>>> Forwards.

I hope that ad model is very progressive. Brands can add a lot of value into my bespoke magazines. There is a lot of intelligence and utility possibilities. I hope that it's way more considered than a full page spread. Fingers crossed.

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Flipboard and other interesting tools like the forthcoming Tweetmag are exciting and moving the game forward. But doing so in a more mature, considered and familiar way. As mentioned there is a familiarity, comfort and immediate understanding of use - much like the iPad itself - which somewhat ensures success. This order from chaos is much welcomed. The human face of technology.

What's more it will propel Twitter even further into the mainstream as the value of a tweet is no longer just its context to your small group of friends, but as a powerful part in a bigger picture about the subject it discusses. That value will give more and more people a reason to join the conversation.

Exciting times. Back to the Future.