How do we talk about atproto to non-developers?

ATProto is a post-app protocol trapped in a world of apps. I can feel it all around the edges of the network.

one thing I really like about atproto is that it provides the infrastructure needed to make open source user apps that actually fucking sync data across devices sorry but the average random hobbyist is absolutely not going to run a user account server for their homebrew todo list app

I recently got super into the ATProto spec and how different services use PDS to store the data, I put together a quick client-only website that presents all those records in a single, consolidated feed of all my activity: at.diego.codes

the single most important part of atproto is the PDS as a user-controlled auth and storage layer to which clients can connect directly. death to appviews

also, I kinda feel like calling the things that consume atproto data "apps" does a disservice to understanding what they are / how they work / what their potential is. But that is a partially-formed hot take I can't fully defend yet.

I'm thinking about how non-developers will feel about atproto. For example, will it take people by surprise that data entered into one app can show up somewhere else? More thoughts in this post.

some thoughts on atproto as a post-app paradigm

It seems a fork lies ahead, is atproto a portable database for a bunch of apps or a new type of post-app, social filesystem?

Imagining atproto as a post-app protocol starts with materializing the social filesystem – decomposing apps and their data into materials and instruments. For the time being, this guestbook is a good example where the display element is a material and the sign element is an instrument.