The launch of the iPad 2 this spring has helped Flipboard, an app designed to provide a magazine powered by users’ social networks, reach the milestone of 400 million “flips” per month, up from 100 million “flips” per month just a few months ago. Each “flip” is indicated by someone flipping the page on its iPad reader app.
The iPad app reformats updates, photos and links provided by friends and other individuals on social networking sites into a browsable, magazine-style format. Through the app, users can also add feeds from blogs and websites, while also sharing items with friends through both social media venues and email.
The quick uptake of the app is not surprising given that it was named Apple’s iPad App of the Year last year and also called one of TIME’s top 50 inventions of the year. Flipboard CEO, Mike McCue, credits the app’s recent success to additional users thanks to the new iPad 2, more publishers doing deals with the app, and a newer, faster version of the app’s software. Recent publishers added include AOL titles such as Engadget and TechCrunch, through deals that typically involve ads and a revenue sharing agreement.
This rapid uptake, along with some new financing, are set to help the company move into a new office and double its staff to about 60 by the end of the year. There’s little doubt that the app and the company will continue to grow as social media consumers look for a fresh way to view content from their friends and favorite sites, especially if more publishers and sites also find themselves flipping.
