Bluesky is set to introduce a new feature called 'communities,' which will function as smaller spaces where users can 'go deeper and hang out with people who care about the same stuff,' according to head of product Alex Benzer. The feature is expected to roll out sometime this year.
Built on the AT Protocol
These communities will be built on the decentralized AT Protocol that underpins Bluesky. Benzer described it as 'a new structure for everyone' that is part of the 'Atmosphere,' a shorthand for the AT Protocol ecosystem. In a thread, Benzer outlined several ideas the team has in mind.
'On Bluesky, you’ll be able to create communities, join them, post in them, and get updates,' Benzer said. 'The core features on Bluesky stay simple. 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.'
Customizable Homepages and Privacy Levels
Communities will receive a handle that 'doubles as a URL,' and visiting that URL will lead to a custom homepage for the community, according to Benzer. 'Builders can also host a completely custom experience there instead.'
Three privacy levels will be available for communities: public, invite-only, and private. Each community will have its own feed, Benzer added.
Context and Competition
Benzer’s announcement follows comments from Bluesky COO Rose Wang last week, who stated that the company wanted to move away from being a 'public square' and was 'very inspired by companies like Reddit.' Meta’s Threads is currently testing a similar communities feature, while X announced in April that it would be shutting down its own take on communities.
