# Blue Skies Over Mastodon (with Erin Kissane and Tim Bray)

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2023-05-02
- Length: 1h 41m
- Episode: 12
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/53631a2d

## Summary

Erin Kissane, Tim Bray, and Steve Klabnik join Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal to analyze the social media landscape following the Twitter exodus, focusing on the competing protocols of Mastodon and Blue Sky. The group discusses the technical and cultural challenges of federation, data portability, and moderation, highlighting Blue Sky's 'composable moderation' and invite-based growth as key differentiators from the Mastodon ecosystem. They debate the implications of public block lists, the role of humor in online communities, and the potential for a decentralized future where users can migrate their identity across servers.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=0) Introduction and Erin Kissane's Blog Post
- [5:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=313) The Twitter Exodus and Steve Klabnik's Experience
- [9:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=552) Tim Bray on Federation and Blue Sky's Potential
- [17:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=1058) Blue Sky's Moderation and the 'Hellthread'
- [25:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=1539) Mastodon's Earnestness vs. Blue Sky's Humor
- [32:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=1963) Composable Moderation and Data Portability
- [44:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=2685) Technical Deep Dive: AT Protocol and Blockchain
- [1:13:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=4390) The Debate on Public Block Lists
- [1:35:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray#t=5721) Institutional Knowledge and Future Outlook

## Topics

- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Mastodon (product)
- Blue Sky (product)
- Twitter (product)
- Activity Pub (other)
- AT Protocol (other)
- Phanpy (product)
- Lobsters (product)
- Skyline.gay (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Live From The HIBT Summit: Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger Of Instagram](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-12-19-live-from-the-hibt-summit-kevin-systrom-mike-krieger-of-instagram) (How I Built This)
- [Instagram: Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger (2017)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-11-13-instagram-kevin-systrom-mike-krieger-2017) (How I Built This)
- [Live Episode! Reddit: Alexis Ohanian & Steve Huffman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-08-31-live-episode-reddit-alexis-ohanian-steve-huffman) (How I Built This)
- [What Are IoT Protocols? | HiveMQ's Dominik Obermaier | Internet of Things Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2023-07-18-what-are-iot-protocols-hivemqs-dominik-obermaier-internet-of-things-podcast) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [Twitter, Medium and Blogger: Ev Williams](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-05-06-twitter-medium-and-blogger-ev-williams) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-05-02-blue-skies-over-mastodon-with-erin-kissane-and-tim-bray. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.