FlipBoard Review: It's the design, stupid.

I just downloaded FlipBoard onto my iPad this morning. Already, it is showing us whole new ways to discover the information we already experience. You see, I hate Facebook. Actually, it's the endless updates from my "friends" I hate. Well really, it's not Facebook per se, my friends, or their constant updates. It's the design.


Here is what my Facebook update page looks like on my phone and tablet:















Now here is the same Facebook feed via the FlipBoard app:















FlipBoard makes a "social magazine" customized for you starting with your Facebook and Twitter feeds.


Here is my Twitter feed on Twitterific:















Here is the same Twitter feed on FlipBoard:















This just feels right, doesn't it? There is a reason for that. It's because the publishing industry has been evolving the design of images and text for centuries. The tablet and touch interface finally allows for it all to come together.


Here are my first day's impressions:


- This is my new Twitter app.


- This is my ONLY Facebook interface from now on.


- This is good for Facebook: it means I actually enjoy interacting with the stream of updates from my Facebook friends, for once.


- This is bad for Facebook: Now that I have a browser for these feeds, I could care less whether my friends are on the same network as I am. I cannot tell if their photos and comments are on Facebook, MySpace, or via an RSS feed.


- They will have a killer analytics and ad model. Very disruptive.


- This is bad for the publishing industry: Who needs paid content with premium design on top of free content?


- This is good for the publishing industry: This shows the publishing industry a way to adapt their content in a new way. It solves so many design issues.


Still missing in this app:


- ReTweeting to both Facebook and Twitter are needed, including Classic re-tweeting edit.
- Better "drill down" needed.  I should be able to view videos, photos, and profiles in app.
- Language translation is needed, with auto-translate to my language.
- Geolocation
- Offline mode
- Allow more Feeds


Here is a demo video: