Flipboard, a company known for its personalized news magazine software, is significantly expanding its commitment to the open social web with the acquisition of Graze, a startup focused on building and monetizing user-curated feeds. This move signals a strategic investment in an ecosystem where users, rather than single platforms, control their data and audience.

Graze has developed tools that empower creators to build, customize, and manage feeds, particularly within the Bluesky platform, which utilizes the AT Protocol. This open standard allows different applications to interoperate within a shared social network. Since its inception, Graze has facilitated the distribution of billions of posts to millions of users. The startup’s innovative approach to monetization allows feed creators to earn income through advertising, crucially without resorting to invasive user tracking. Instead, ads are contextual, targeting specific interests within a community, such as advertising to game developers within a gaming-focused feed.

This privacy-centric advertising model is a key differentiator. Feed curators have the ability to select which ads appear, and the revenue generated is split, with 70% going to the creator and 30% to Graze. This revenue-sharing model aims to provide sustainable income for content creators and communities. Flipboard CEO Mike McCue highlighted the appeal of Graze’s ad technology, emphasizing its ability to operate without surveillance and respect user privacy, while ensuring that economic benefits are distributed broadly.

The acquisition was partly spurred by Flipboard’s use of Graze’s technology in its own new app, Surf. This collaboration revealed shared visions for the growth of the open social ecosystem, alongside some overlap in development efforts. By integrating Graze’s capabilities, Flipboard aims to extend the feed-building functionality beyond Bluesky to all applications built on the AT Protocol, including Flipboard’s own services. This strategic move is expected to foster the growth of communities and creators on the decentralized web.

Key Takeaways

• Flipboard has acquired Graze, a startup focused on building and monetizing curated feeds for the open social web.
• Graze's monetization model uses contextual advertising, avoiding user tracking and prioritizing creator revenue.
• The acquisition aims to expand feed-building capabilities across the AT Protocol ecosystem, including Flipboard's own applications.

Editor’s Analysis & Impact

This acquisition by Flipboard represents a significant step towards realizing the potential of the open social web. By integrating Graze’s privacy-respecting monetization tools, Flipboard is positioning itself as a leader in a space that challenges the dominant surveillance-based advertising models. The focus on contextual ads and revenue sharing with creators could foster a more sustainable and equitable digital content economy. As the AT Protocol gains traction, Flipboard’s investment in Graze could prove prescient, enabling a new wave of community-driven platforms that prioritize user control and privacy, potentially reshaping how social media content is created, consumed, and funded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the 'open social web'?
A: The open social web refers to a concept of social platforms where users, rather than a single company, have control over their own data and audience. It is built on open technical standards like the AT Protocol, allowing different applications to interoperate and share data.

Q: How does Graze's advertising model differ from traditional social media?
A: Graze's advertising model is contextual, meaning ads are targeted based on the content of a specific feed or community, rather than tracking individual user behavior across the web. This approach avoids invasive data collection and respects user privacy.

Q: What is the AT Protocol?
A: The AT Protocol is an open technical standard that enables different social applications to share the same network and data. It is the foundation for platforms like Bluesky and allows for interoperability between various decentralized social services.