Happy 4th of July!

🇺🇸 Happy Fourth of July! On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we're opening the public beta of @skysquare.app. Read Bluesky conversations alongside the articles you're reading. Current build is fully functional; an updated release is awaiting Chrome Web Store approval. 🥁🥁🥁🎇

Why I created @skysquare.app—and why I believe the web needs it. "Decentralized protocols represent more than a technical innovation. They offer the possibility that public conversation might once again become part of the commons rather than the exclusive property of any single platform."

Four days to public beta, y'all ready?

Bluesky may be moving toward communities. That's a valid path. But if you're interested in preserving the public square aspect of the network, we're launching @skysquare.app on July 4 and remain committed to helping people discover and engage with public discourse connected to the open web itself.

It's official, @bsky.app has integrated @standard.site into the app! This means posts from @pckt.blog, @offprint.app, and @leaflet.pub get a richer treatment in the app. More details about how this works on the atproto blog: atproto.com/blog/standar...

CBS News Radio - beacon of information - is being extinguished by oligarchs today. Time capsule h/t @abradschwartz.bsky.social

"News providers will need to accept that in future, the connection with their consumers must flow through a more direct relationship with their talent and one that feels less controlled, less formal, less corporate, human to human." www.niemanlab.org/2026/05/crea...

Quick update: We made the call to migrate Skysquare from Jetstream to TAP to unlock the full historical graph and build a more complete data layer. That transition just hit a major milestone. Testing this week—cutover next. Public release still on track for July 4. Get early access: skysquare.app

All of us benefit from wider adoption. That's how public discourse works: the more of it, the better. Rn discovery is the obvious problem on @bsky.app. Allowing users to construct their own algorithm is a great value proposition, but by itself it's not going to keep people using the application.

Is Bluesky dying? A more thorough look at the numbers. open.substack.com/pub/techtris...

I like a lot of James's framing for this. Pack up and go where? The other provocation I'd offer is what are we individually or collectively going to do about any of this? If these spaces are important then how do we value and share them with others?

Mike @masnick.com & Alex @komorama.bsky.social talking about the Resonant Computing Manifesto resonantcomputing.org #AtmosphereConf

what’s refreshing about #atmosphereconf is how interdisciplinary the subjects and speakers are - it’s not all code but instead showcasing the roles of scientists, journalists and creators. the community is multi-faceted and have a shared interest in combatting misinformation and abuse.

About the Atmosphere I’m writing this from the beautiful UBC campus in Vancouver where ATmosphereConf 2026 is taking place. It’s a gathering of developers, researchers, and entrepreneurs who are passionate about keeping the... https://toni.org/2026/03/27/about-the-atmosphere/

Technological determinism is real—how we communicate shapes who we are. Bluesky was built with that understanding at its core: “The internet is reshaping society, and societies come to reflect the structure of their dominant form of communication.” — Jay Graber, #ATmosphereConf Seattle 2025

Chris, we have agency, and we can fight this turn together—and being on Bluesky is a great start. What’s happening right now at #AtmosphereConf and #ATScience is smart folks working on how information, context, and discourse actually move across the web. Livestream: stream.place/stream1.atmo...

Finally found a moment to upload a second short from #atmosphereconf, this time with @smcgrath.phd, on how #atscience launched with a "Twitter Dunkerque" beachhead operation involving an excel sheet with 20000 invite codes. www.youtube.com/shorts/iBPdc...

🧪 @row1.ca shows off the power of what this modular approach to science can look like, by creating papers that are more interconnected. #ATScience #AcademicSky #OpenScience

@ronentk.me introduces the challenge of information overload, and where Semble.so could possibly help #ATScience

If you couldn’t make it in person, you can check out our live stream of the #ATscience talks on stream.place - just login below with the account you’re seeing this from! stream.place/stream1.atmo... #OpenScience #AtmosphereConf 🧪💻🧬👩🏻‍🔬

The energy at #atscience is wild. @mariaa.bsky.social gave a wonderful talk about Lea, an AT network app for researchers. So so so inspired by the hope in the room right now. Rewilding in real time! @loriemerson.net, @mariafarrell.eurosky.social and @robin.berjon.com mentioned #atmosphereconf

Sooooo many cool projects presented so far at #ATScience @ #AtmosphereConf! I especially loved @mariaa.bsky.social showing off Lea, a social network client for researchers that's compatible with Bluesky but extends it in some really cute ways

A glimpse of science (comms) from the future at #ATscience

So many good science-oriented features on the upcoming Lea browser, presented at #ATsciemce by @mariaa.bsky.social. #Atmosphereconf.

@davidfrum.bsky.social and the historian Andrew Roberts discuss the rise of algorithmically driven pseudo-historians, and why they appeal to some on the American right. Watch “The David Frum Show”:

Last year we had 179 people and one and a half tracks of content. This year is three jam packed tracks and twice the attendees. Super excited for @atmosphereconf.org's second arrival at the end of this week.

Even if you aren't able to attend #ATScience in-person this time, you can still join the remote live-stream this Friday (March 27 @ 9am Pacific) courtesy of @stream.place ! Talks will be recorded as well.

The Atmosphere is a new open network. The features: - Your account works on all atmosphere apps - You can switch to a new provider with no fuss - Easy to make your own apps on it - Works great with personal websites And, Bluesky is an atmosphere app.

If Plato had a Substack, it would be overlooked. The old system of gatekeeping was replaced with one that rewards engagement over truth. We need to protect the ideas an algorithm can’t measure.

About 20 years ago, something subtle but foundational began to shift. The internet lowered the cost of publishing to near zero. Blogging platforms made it possible for anyone to write, distribute, and reach an audience without going through an editor, a newsroom, or an institution.

I'm reminded of these wise words from Mr. Fred Rogers on what would have been his 98th birthday. We are all in this together. Let's renew ourselves to the fight for the common good. It's all the more important during these difficult times.

RIP 🙏

In honor of Habermas, a meme I made

I’ll be presenting at #ATScience to reveal a sneak peek of @skysquare.app before release later this spring. Skysquare is a browser extension that lets you see Bluesky conversations about a page directly on the page itself while you read. If you're at the conference, come see it in action 📑 👀

"Your research institute on the Atmosphere", my @atproto.science workshop late Friday pm, before #ATmosphereConf in Vancouver, is open for speakers. Would you like to get involved? 🧵 atscience.leaflet.pub/3mfz526irfs2...

For example, how could a Uni aggregate its faculty's use of @semble.so, @margin.at, @skysquare.app & Seams (@sealight.xyz) to tap their collective sensemaking, and then add value to it? Could we aggregate @sill.social feeds to create collective listening? They'll all be present in Vancouver.

#LocalJournalists are sentinels of what’s happening in America. Please follow @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social of the El Paso Times. He has broken multiple stories on CBP/ICE concentration camps including 911 calls logs and disease outbreaks (that are then picked up nationally w/o acknowledgment).

One of the reasons we’re building Skysquare is to restore context to public discourse — because increasingly the conversation happens without anyone reading the source. 👀👇

The agenda for #ATScience is up! Check out the speaker list and full schedule below 👇 The range and quality of proposals we received really exceeded our expectations - thanks to everyone who submitted something! March 27, Vancouver - can't wait to see you there ✨ Sessions include >

The richest man owns X. The second and third richest men control Google. The fourth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The fifth richest man owns The Washington Post. And now the sixth richest could soon take over both Paramount and Warner Bros. See the problem here?

why do nerds suddenly appear every time I post here

New blogpost about atproto It's not federation, it's not a p2p mesh. It's a secret third thing: practical. www.pfrazee.com/blog/practic...

What are we doing here? On Bluesky, yes—but social media in general? But also here—in this moment. On this post. Gathering info? Performing identity? Testing an argument? Seeking recognition? Activism? Passing time? As we scroll, are we conscious? Are you asking yourself: What am I doing here?

When we say public discourse, what do we mean? Before social media, there were: —the agora —printed pages —broadcast signals Each had form, structure, limits and affordances. What form does social media impose on discourse—beyond its content? What are we doing when we speak into these systems?

This seems to be a common reply to my thread, so I'll address it here. Basically, the argument is who cares if this is a misleading attack on Newsom, he's bad so if it hurts him it's fine. And I think it's important to push back on misinformation so that when there are legitimate criticisms...

Here's the documentary that 1.1 million Hungarians have watched over the past week, documenting the damage that Viktor Orban's regime has done to health, education and public transportation in Hungary with English subtitles: youtu.be/9NQEcLIiOpM?...

joining @danabra.mov fight. let's swap discover to a for you like feed. it allows us to better connect with others. it doesn't work well during boostrap but given the current discover experience for a fresh account, just default to a for you feed seeded with cat pics until there are enough likes