







I think if you're saying "atproto doesn't need a ____" then you're missing the point. Let people build the things they want to see in the ecosystem that they, themselves, will use. We don't need ten things shaped the exact same way, we need every type of shape.
May 9, 2026 at 3:21 AM
ATProto Isn't What You Think
This post takes a look at ATProto from a different angle, and explores the value of some possibly less-noticed pieces of it.

Too many of y’all get the shape of atproto fundamentally incorrect, thinking it’s about “data ownership,” but it’s literally never been about that, and if you keep banging that drum, you’ll miss the point, just like we have every other time.
Bryan (they/them) on pckt
pckt.blogwhile the permissionlessness vector of atproto will certainly enable new things we can't imagine the pattern of "____ but on atproto" is key for taking our daily lives back. a framing i prefer is "i can now do {boringDailyLifeThing} without {shittyExtractiveApp}"
dame
i would like to see more atproto apps that aren’t just “already popular app, but on atproto”
atproto devs, read this:
Things we shouldn't say in polite company - Sherif's blog
sherif.pckt.blogwhile the permissionlessness vector of atproto will certainly enable new things we can't imagine the pattern of "____ but on atproto" is key for taking our daily lives back. a framing i prefer is "i can now do {boringDailyLifeThing} without {shittyExtractiveApp}"
dame
i would like to see more atproto apps that aren’t just “already popular app, but on atproto”
papers.club

Aster ID
Trail of Crumbs
fray — Bluesky thread factions
Underlay

Lichen
zzstoatzz.io/protopack

Building the Social Graph with Hubble and Jetstream - 50 Shades of Protocol
co-infra/co-infra-img
Mezzanine: An Information Network Built on Bluesky's Cashtags - Nightflight
syndicating radio with evil atproto - nekomimi

On Atproto and Atmospheric Groups - The Tropopause
Cobalt: I Put Bluesky on a Wii U - Ewan’s Blog
ParticipatoryEcosystem

Scott Lanoue - CoMail
It's working - Tynan's Leaflets
Call for Participation: AT Protocol Ecosystem Action Research - Ecosystem Action
Roomy joins Modal incubator - Roomy
Managing scientific knowledge for policy on the ATmosphere - Mathew's newsletter
RRGI · Discourse Graph — lens switch
Lupita Nihongo (@otsumamiboy.blacksky.app)
Observ.ing - Observe nature. Own your data.
lexicons.bio
science.latha.org