Bluesky’s new CEO wants a big tent, not a bubble
Summary
Nilay Patel interviews Tony Schneider, the new CEO of Blue Sky, about balancing the company’s dual focus on its consumer app and the open AT Protocol. They discuss Schneider’s decade-long vision for an interoperable social ecosystem, the shift toward private communities, and how Blue Sky handles moderation and revenue without ads. Schneider draws parallels to his time at Automattic, emphasizing a long-term, open-web approach to counter fragmented social media.
Topics discussed
Sponsors and introduction
Tony Schneider joins as Blue Sky CEO
Blue Sky's dual role: app and protocol
Decision-making timeframes and reversibility
The Atmosphere ecosystem and interoperability
Team structure and distributed moderation
Private communities and group chats
Sponsors: Quo and Framer
Leadership philosophy and trade-offs
Extending the protocol for private spaces
Content types: text, video, and discovery
Decentralization and handing over control
Sponsors: Odoo, Upwork, and Amazon
Monetization strategy and business model
AI's impact on development velocity
Comparison with ActivityPub and Threads
Political reputation and user growth
Conclusion and credits
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