• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, March 15, 2011

Organic Tuesday unveiled a social media-driven publication for the iPad, the first app released by a new development team at the agency focused( on building applications on emerging platforms and testing new technologies. The group will be led by Organic VP of Technology Todd Drake and Chief Creative Officer Conor Brady. As part of the initiative, all Organic employees will given iPads and will serve as test users for the newly introduced BroadFeed app and other iPad apps.

The 99-cent BroadFeed app delivers content shared on Twitter in a newspaper format, complete with headlines, teasers and photos. Here's how it works according to the App Store description: "You tell the app what sources to follow, either by signing in to your Twitter feed or browsing the built-in directory. Then BroadFeed pulls in and prioritizes the articles and pictures being shared." Something like a Twitter client on steroids. What separates BroadFeed from other "social magazine" iPad apps is is its Digg-like "social-weighting" system that prioritizes placement of content based on how much a link is shared.

The idea is to automate the editorial process of figuring out which stories should go on the front page of a newspaper. The app doesn't include ads, but Organic has  embedded measurement technologies within BroadFeed to get a better understanding of how consumers are interacting with it. Proceeds from the sales of BroadFeed will be donated to charities, including the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), which is driving disaster relief efforts on behalf of those affected by the Japan earthquake and tsunami.