I asked the people at Bluesky everything I want to know right now, including 'Bluesky's ambitions,' 'Bluesky's monetization plan,' 'Bluesky's official server specifications,' 'Will the API ever become unavailable?' and 'The relationship between Jack Dorsey and Bluesky.'
At the '
Bluesky meetup in Osaka Vol.2 - connpass
https://428lab.connpass.com/event/313710/
During the Q&A session at Bluesky Meetup in Osaka Vol.2, many users asked Why questions such as 'Are there plans to implement key accounts?' and 'Are there plans to add a function called ____ to AT Protocol?', to which Why answered in detail. During the Q&A session, many ideas were added to Why's 'to-do list,' resulting in a fulfilling development. You can check out the Q&A session in the article below.
An event was held where you could ask Bluesky developers anything, such as 'Are there plans to implement a key account?' and 'Are there plans to establish a Japanese branch?' When I went, it was a fulfilling event where ideas that were added to the developers' 'to-do list' came out one after another - GIGAZINE
After the Q&A session, Why and the event management team set aside time for an interview with the GIGAZINE editorial department, so we asked them a few questions about Bluesky.
GIGAZINE (hereinafter, G):
First of all, I would like to ask the question I am most curious about. At present, Bluesky only offers domain sales services as a paid service, but what kind of monetization methods do you plan to use in the future?
Mr. Why (hereinafter, Why):
This is not a definite plan, but we are considering implementing something like a subscription service for users who post creative content. Each user would pay a fee to the creator, and Bluesky would take a small percentage of that as a commission. We can't reveal the details, but we are aiming to build a system that can monetize while improving the entire network.
G:
I see. So, please tell me the specs of the current Bluesky official server. The number of Bluesky users exceeded 5 million in February 2024. What kind of server configuration supports more than 5 million users?
We just crossed 5M people in total on the network! ????
— Bluesky ( @bsky.app ) Feb 23, 2024 at 5:04
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Why:
We have two data centers, one in the San Francisco Bay Area and the other in Brasilia. Each data center has 30 big servers, each running EPYC Genoa (AMD's 4th generation server CPU 'EPYC') . All hardware is owned by Bluesky and is not rented from other companies.
Also, due to the rapid increase in Japanese users, we would like to locate our next data center in Japan.
G:
I feel that the UI design and functions of Bluesky are very similar to Twitter (now X). During the development stage, to what extent were you conscious of 'making it similar to Twitter'?
Why:
We wanted to make Bluesky the best microblogging service, and many people love the features that Twitter has offered for a long time, so we took a lot of inspiration from Twitter.
G:
I see. So why is the color scheme similar to Twitter? Both Twitter and Bluesky have distinctive blue-based appearances.
Why:
Bluesky was originally an internal Twitter project started by Jack Dorsey in 2019. That's why the color blue remained even after he established Bluesky PBLLC (now Bluesky PBC) as a separate company from Twitter.
By the way, the agreement to separate from Twitter included a clause stating that 'Twitter is not an owner of Bluesky PBLLC.' Twitter was also given the right to 'select one director.'
G:
Is Jack Dorsey the 'Twitter-appointed director'?
Why:
that's right.
G:
Since you mentioned Jack Dorsey, let me ask you this question. Currently, Jack Dorsey is on the board of directors of Bluesky PBC. Is he still involved in the development of Bluesky or the AT Protocol?
Why:
Jack is not involved in the development of Bluesky or AT Protocol. He is focused on other things. Jack agrees with the decentralized philosophy that Bluesky upholds, so he will not give any instructions from his position as a director. By the way, Jack's term of office is not specifically determined.
G:
Understood. Next, I would like to ask a question about third-party apps and services. In the past, Twitter's API was open, and anyone could freely create third-party apps. Bluesky's protocol is also open, and anyone can develop third-party apps. In this situation, is there anything you would like third-party developers to be careful about?
Why:
Third party developer participation is very important to Bluesky, it's at the core of what we do.
G:
In other words, there are no restrictions at all and you want us to continue developing?
Why:
Yes! That's why I came to Japan.
Bluesky will support OAuth in the coming months, allowing developers to provide secure login functionality.
G:
What user-built app or service do you personally find interesting or noteworthy?
Why:
The app '
G:
During the Q&A session at Bluesky Meetup in Osaka Vol.2, you mentioned that Bluesky PBC has 20 employees. What roles do each of those 20 people play?
Why:
Of Bluesky PBC's 20 full-time employees, 14 to 15 are engineers, while the rest work in marketing.
G:
So with 14-15 engineers working on it, how are discussions about adding features to Bluesky and the AT Protocol progressing?
Why:
The AT Protocol is near completion as of March 2024. However, two engineers remain committed to the AT Protocol and may still make minor changes.
Bluesky is considering implementing a video posting function, but to do so, it will require changes to not only the Bluesky app but also the AT Protocol. What's interesting about Bluesky is that app development and protocol development are linked together.
G:
That's true. Most apps are developed according to a completed protocol, but with Bluesky, the development of the app and the protocol proceeds simultaneously.
Why:
Yes. And we want to standardize the AT Protocol. We want it to be standardized, not something owned by Bluesky. We're going to work with a standards organization to standardize the AT Protocol.
G:
With which organizations will you be working on this standardization?
Why:
That is still under consideration.
G:
Going back to the topic of Bluesky's user community, what would you most like them to help you with?
Why:
We know that Japanese users love social media, but we don't know what they want. That's why we're here today to hear directly from our users.
G:
So, my final question: What is Bluesky's ultimate goal? Are you aiming to become a service with hundreds of millions of users like Facebook or X?
Why:
Bluesky has two big ambitions. The first is to make all social networking activities on the web run on the AT Protocol. The second is to improve the Bluesky experience and make it a model for services that adopt the AT Protocol.
And one last thing I want to say. There is no need for third-party developers to worry that Bluesky's API will become unusable in the future. In the first place, due to the specifications of the AT Protocol, it is impossible for us to prohibit the use of the API. Therefore, there is no need to worry that the API will suddenly become unusable like Twitter or Reddit! This is 'decentralization'. Don't worry.
G:
That's a very encouraging statement for developers. Thank you very much.
After this, Why worked together with the event participants to make takoyaki.
You can see Why making takoyaki from around 4 minutes and 40 seconds into the movie below.
Bluesky Takoyaki meetup - YouTube
At the end of the event, Why and the event participants took a group photo in the takoyaki pose before disbanding.
A group photo of everyone who attended today
— Yotsuya Lab ( @428lab.net ) Apr 14, 2024 at 17:49
Thank you for coming all the way
#BskyMeetup
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◆ Forum is currently open
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• Discord | 'What do you expect from Bluesky in the future?' | GIGAZINE
https://discord.com/channels/1037961069903216680/1229361913960333384
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in Interview, Mobile, Software, Web Service, Web Application, Hardware, Posted by log1o_hf