Flip Gifts Combines Mobility + Curation + Social Sharing

Flipboard, the tablet based social application just added a new section which focuses on shopping. Here's what I like about it. It's deceptively simple. Take a few feeds around a niche/timely topic and curate them carefully, and let the "consumer" of the content peruse and share what they find valuable. Before fixating on Flipboard as the the next bright and shiny object to chase after—consider 3 trends to get your head around instead.

Mobility:
The computing experience is becoming less tied down to the desktop. As a result, it feels portable, sharable and more like "play". This trend will continue as technology gives us better, more and cheaper mobile experiences which go beyond merely e-mail and text.

Curation:
Information is in surplus as opposed to a shortage, but attention is finite as opposed to infinite. Curators are needed to help separate the signal from noise. Curation is a service—and when done appropriately, attention becomes the reward. it can build both audiences and in some cases communities.

Social Sharing:
Social shopping is a subset of this meta trend but it ultimately means the act of doing something with others. Sharing deals, articles, tips, tricks, recommendations are all behaviors that networks have the potential to amplify.

As you begin to plan your community, marketing, and business strategies for the new year, these are a few technologies and behaviors to keep an eye on (among others).