I use the Flipboard app almost on a daily basis, so much so that I often end up doom flipping through it. I think this is a weakness of my explorer mindset in that I’m constantly exploring for new things that relate to my life’s work. Yet this can obviously pull me down rabbit holes where I completely lose track of time, wasting away the day.
Even though I love the way the Flipboard app works in terms of flipping between articles, my number one issue with is that it no longer supports native RSS feeds (even though it is at least embracing the Fediverse).
Another huge issue with Flipboard is that it’s main “For You” feed continually dumps in news that you may not be interested in. Yes you can use the filtering options to say you want “more” or “less” of certain topics (although it very confusing how this works) and you can also completely “mute” a news site if you like as well.
However muting sites actually occurs locally on your device rather than the cloud, so on slower, older machines, it can dramatically slow down the Flipboard experience, as you could end up waiting multiple seconds everyone once in while between flips, as your device filters out certain new sites you no longer want to see from the newer articles being loaded.
Realizing that using Flipboard is overwhelming me by continually distracting me, I’ve decided to go back to an RSS feed app on my iPad called Unread that I used briefly before.
While the basic functions of the app are free (with advanced features included for a monthly or yearly subscription), I find the basic functionality more than sufficient for my needs. In fact, if I was to pay for it, I’d prefer a single payment lifetime option, as well as more options for changing the formatting of what you’re reading (i.e. line height, width, etc).
Nevertheless, it still meets my simple needs in a simple way. And I’m enjoying reading again from people I’ve subscribed to in the past, as well as some newer people as well.
The best thing of all is that when I’m finished reading and go back to my overall list of feeds, I eventually reach a point where there is nothing left to read which gives this strange feeling of being able to just breathe again. Almost like you can finally exhale again after inhaling too much.
But I guess that relates to the rhythm of being creative. Breathe in for inspiration. Breathe out for creation (which hopefully connects with and inspires someone else in turn).