News aggregator Flipboard to add user-generated "conversations"

How it works: For years Flipboard users have been able to create their own digital "magazines" made up of content from around the internet. With the new conversations feature, magazine curators will be able to post items they write themselves, add a photo, and allow others to then comment.

Between the lines: Flipboard CEO Mike McCue tells Axios that the goal is not to be the public square that Twitter aspires to, but rather to be a coffee shop around the block where people can have a good conversation.

• That said, McCue has about a dozen content moderators to help ensure that the conversations don't deviate into hate speech or other problematic content.

Yes, but: McCue says that controversies around Twitter's evolution under Elon Musk were not the inspiration for the feature, which has been in development since the beginning of the year.

• "It is really timely," he said. "We didn't plan it that way."

The big picture: Flipboard, which depends on advertising revenue, cut 21% of its staff earlier this year. The ad market continues to be extremely challenging, McCue said.