Bluesky Adds Community Features
▼ Summary
– Bluesky plans to launch “communities” this year, functioning as smaller spaces for users with shared interests, built on the decentralized AT Protocol.
– Head of product Alex Benzer outlined features: users can create, join, and post in communities, which will have their own feeds and three privacy levels (public, invite-only, private).
– Each community will have a handle that doubles as a URL, leading to a custom homepage that builders can fully customize using other “Atmospheric” apps and tools.
– The move follows COO Rose Wang stating Bluesky wants to shift from a “public square” model, inspired by Reddit, while competitors Threads tests communities and X shuts down its version.
– Communities will be part of the “Atmosphere” ecosystem, with core Bluesky features remaining simple but customizable via open web tools.
Bluesky is preparing to roll out a feature called “communities,” designed to give users dedicated spaces where they can “go deeper and hang out with people who care about the same stuff.” The announcement came from head of product Alex Benzer, who confirmed the feature is expected to launch sometime this year. These communities will be built directly on the decentralized AT Protocol that powers Bluesky. Benzer described the initiative as “a new structure for everyone” and part of the broader “Atmosphere,” a shorthand used for the entire AT Protocol ecosystem.
In a thread outlining the vision, Benzer shared a few early concepts. “On Bluesky, you’ll be able to create communities, join them, post in them, and get updates,” he wrote. He emphasized that the core Bluesky experience will remain simple, adding, “The magic comes from communities also existing on the open web. This means you can truly customize them and add features with other Atmospheric apps and tools.”
Each community will receive a handle that doubles as a URL. Visiting that URL will take you to a custom homepage for that community. Benzer also noted that “builders can also host a completely custom experience there instead.” The feature will support three privacy levels: public, invite-only, and private. Every community will also have its own dedicated feed.
Benzer’s comments follow a statement from Bluesky COO Rose Wang last week, who said the company wants to move away from being a “public square” and is “very inspired by companies like Reddit.” The move comes as Meta’s Threads is currently testing its own communities feature, while X announced in April that it would be shutting down its version.
(Source: The Verge)
