# Scaling Bluesky with Paul Frazee

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2024-12-19
- Length: 1h 40m
- Episode: 32
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/498694fe

## Summary

Paul Frazee of Bluesky discusses the evolution of the AT Protocol from early decentralized experiments like Secure Scuttlebutt to the launch of Bluesky, explaining how the team prioritized account portability and a shared data model to avoid the centralization pitfalls of previous social networks. He details the engineering challenges of scaling the platform during its viral growth, including the decision to halt invite-only access to re-architect the backend, and describes key product features like the open firehose, customizable third-party feeds, and decentralized moderation via labelers. Frazee also highlights the unexpected success of domain-based usernames for verification and the role of 'starter packs' in migrating communities from Twitter.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee#t=0) Introduction and History of Decentralization
- [2:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee#t=145) From Secure Scuttlebutt to AT Protocol Design
- [21:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee#t=1309) Scaling Challenges and the Invite-Only Phase
- [15:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee#t=924) The Firehose and Open Data Architecture
- [39:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee#t=2383) Custom Feeds and Decentralized Algorithms
- [56:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee#t=3365) Decentralized Moderation and Labelers
- [1:23:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee#t=5008) Domain Names and Starter Packs

## Topics

- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Bluesky (product)
- AT Protocol (other)
- Secure Scuttlebutt (product)
- Beaker (product)
- Mastodon (product)
- Oxide Computer Company (company)

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- [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! Clubhouse: Paul Davison and Rohan Seth](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-05-06-live-episode-clubhouse-paul-davison-and-rohan-seth) (How I Built This)
- [Grindr: Joel Simkhai](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-07-17-grindr-joel-simkhai) (How I Built This)
- [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)

## 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/2024-12-19-scaling-bluesky-with-paul-frazee. 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.