Building Bluesky as a Platform - Eric Bailey

What if social media was a global public database you could build anything on?

#1about 4 minutes

Why users are choosing Bluesky over other platforms

Bluesky's appeal comes from its simple, text-focused interface and decentralized foundation, which offers a familiar yet fresh alternative to platforms like X and Mastodon.

#2about 5 minutes

How to build applications on the Bluesky platform

Developers can interact with Bluesky as a global public database through open APIs, a data firehose, and SDKs for languages like TypeScript and Python.

#3about 6 minutes

Community adoption and custom domain identity

The platform supports community-built applications and allows users and organizations to verify their identity by linking their accounts to a custom domain name.

#4about 6 minutes

How Bluesky handles content moderation at scale

A system of stackable moderation combines human moderators, automated tools, and user reports using a shared system of content labels to filter unwanted content.

#5about 4 minutes

Understanding Bluesky's user growth and scaling strategy

The platform experiences growth in waves, or step functions, and has moved to on-premises infrastructure to manage costs and prepare for future scaling.

#6about 3 minutes

Monetization without compromising user experience

Bluesky plans to avoid a traditional ad-based model and will instead focus on enabling third-party creators to monetize through features like sponsored posts in custom feeds.

#7about 1 minute

The distributed team culture at Bluesky

The small core team is fully distributed across the US and Europe, collaborating remotely and gathering for in-person on-sites a few times a year.

#8about 7 minutes

Fostering a healthier online ecosystem with an open protocol

By not algorithmically punishing external links and focusing on building an open protocol, Bluesky aims to create a healthier public square rather than just another walled-garden social network.

#9about 4 minutes

How developers can contribute and provide feedback

Developers are encouraged to build on the platform and provide feedback on pain points, such as data backfilling, the new developer experience, and accessibility improvements.