Surf Browser Beta Integrates with Bluesky

Surf App Expands Bluesky Integration with "Blue Wave" Beta

Flipboard’s Surf application, designed for navigating the open social web, is enhancing its compatibility with Bluesky’s social network. A new beta version, named “Blue Wave,” has been released, enabling users to access Surf utilizing their Bluesky login details.

This integration grants access to all Bluesky feeds within Surf, encompassing the following feed, the discovery feed, and any custom feeds previously pinned within the Bluesky application itself.

Accessing Bluesky Sources

The updated integration also facilitates access to various Bluesky resources when constructing personalized feeds. This includes Bluesky’s Starter Packs – curated lists of recommended accounts designed to assist new users in establishing connections.

Furthermore, Bluesky Lists and Custom Feeds are now available as potential sources for feed creation.

Surf as a Bluesky Alternative

With this addition, Surf presents itself as a viable alternative to the native Bluesky app. Users can now engage with Bluesky posts directly within Surf, including liking, replying, and reposting.

Interactions from Bluesky app users will also be visible within Surf, ensuring a unified experience.

A Unified Social Web

According to Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, Surf provides “seamless access” to content from users on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads.

He emphasizes that Surf is contributing to “the social web coming to life and unifying the social web,” fostering a more interconnected online experience.

He also highlights Surf as a beneficial alternative to centralized social media platforms increasingly saturated with AI-generated content.

Combating AI-Generated Content

McCue notes, “The AI overrun is just brutal.” He believes RSS is crucial for accessing authentic content from sources like YouTube, podcasts, and newsletters created by individuals.

By consciously selecting sources and prioritizing trusted connections, users can effectively filter out unwanted AI-generated material, leveraging the “power of human connection.”

Streamlined Feed Creation

A new beta feature introduces a setup wizard to guide users through the process of building custom home feeds within Surf. This functionality is intended to be expanded to other custom feed creation tools in the future.

This allows users to design a personalized timeline by combining feeds from platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, including following feeds and other custom selections such as Bluesky’s “Popular with Friends” or “Discover.”

Content Filtering Options

The setup wizard also enables users to filter out unwanted content, such as political topics. Toggle switches are provided to hide posts related to specific individuals like Donald Trump or Elon Musk, offering a more curated and escapist feed.

McCue explains that many users seek to utilize Bluesky as a respite from news and specific personalities.

Combining Networks and Protocols

Surf excels in its ability to construct topical feeds that aggregate posts from various open social networks and protocols, including RSS. This allows users to incorporate sources like news websites, blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels into their custom feeds.

For instance, McCue’s “Tech Builders and Thinkers” feed includes accounts from Mastodon, Bluesky, and YouTube.

The core concept is to follow preferred individuals and topics without being confined to a single platform.

Feed Privacy and Customization

Currently, all feeds are public by default, allowing users to discover feeds created by others. However, McCue plans to introduce privacy settings, enabling users to selectively share their feeds.

Users can also customize the appearance of their feeds, setting cover images, background colors, and default tab selections.

Feed views can be adjusted to resemble a Twitter/X timeline (“Discuss”) or prioritize specific media types, such as images (“Look”), audio (“Listen”), videos (“Watch”), or articles (“Read”).

Alternatives to Dedicated Apps

Many developers are creating specialized apps for Bluesky, focusing on particular media types. Surf offers similar functionality without requiring separate applications and without limiting content to Bluesky alone.

Beta Rollout and Future Development

The Surf Blue Wave beta update was initially showcased at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, and is now being distributed to existing testers. A new wave of beta testers will also be onboarded.

The app will eventually transition from Apple’s TestFlight platform to overcome the 10,000-tester limit.

The company is also actively developing a web version of the currently iOS-exclusive Surf application.