If you’re like me, you have a bit of social media overload.  Between checking my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds, AND making sure I’m caught up on my Google Reader, I can’t keep up with everything that’s going on.  That all changed when I discovered Flipboard. 

Flipboard brands itself as “Your Social Magazine” but at its most basic, its a content aggregator. It connects all of your social networks, your current RSS feed reader, and other content tailored to your interests all in one beautiful, easy to use interface.

The true beauty of the app is its visual nature.  Instead of a simple list of every update in the tired old format, the app uses an image for each entry and arranges them in a grid on flippable pages.  Each image represents one of your designated interests, and clicking on the image takes you to pages of results on that topic, with an image for each entry and the beginning text for the article if applicable.  By designing the app this way, it really does feel like a digital version of a magazine that is curated to your interests only.  Best of all, it allows for easy scanning of content to hone in on what you really want to read.

While it is obviously ideal for tablets, the app is also available for smartphones running on Android or iOS (ideal for checking in on the news on the go.)  The app currently offers options for all the big social networks (Twitter, Facebok, Instagram, etc.) and also for additional services  like Tumblr, YouTube, LinkedIn, the New York Times, etc.  Let’s put it this way: If it has a feed that you can check, it’s probably on the list.