Integrating BlueSky comments

I’ve recently become more active on BlueSky, a decentralized social network with rapid growth. Bluesky has seen a massive increase in users recently, reaching over 22 million as of November 2024. Much of this growth comes from users moving over from platforms like X (formerly Twitter), particularly due to frustrations with policy changes and content moderation.

With this rapid growth, Bluesky is working on strengthening its infrastructure to support the growing number of users.

The social media network has surpassed 21 million users, up from 13 million in October, as X users have left in droves and flocked to the platform.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/bluesky-user-growth-social-coo-servers-twitter-elon-musk-x-2024-11

Initially, I had been exploring different ways to allow comments on my blog. However, the high costs of maintaining the infrastructure and the ongoing challenges of moderating potential spam and bots always held me back from pursuing that idea. That was until I discovered BlueSky.

One of the unique features of BlueSky is the ability to verify your username if you own a domain (without paying extra). This helps to prevent impersonation, adding a layer of trustworthiness to user interactions. But what caught my attention was the integration of the AT Protocol, which is the backbone of BlueSky’s decentralized network.

A new approach to comments

BlueSky’s decentralized nature, combined with the AT Protocol, offers a unique way to add comments to your blog without having to build your comment system or worry about moderation.

The idea is simple but powerful: instead of maintaining a traditional comment system, you can let discussions happen on BlueSky, and then link those conversations directly to your blog post.

Here’s how it works:

1- Start the discussion, You create a post or discussion thread on BlueSky about your blog post.

2- Get the link, Once the discussion is up, you can easily grab the link to that thread.

3- Link to your blog You link the BlueSky thread to your blog post, essentially embedding the discussion into your content.

The beauty of this approach is that BlueSky automatically handles moderation for you, allowing you to focus on creating content without worrying about spam or inappropriate comments. This also provides an extra layer of validation to the conversation, as it’s tied to a decentralized platform that prioritizes privacy and freedom.

How it looks in action

Here’s an example of how I’ve applied this to my blog. The author of this article, Emily Liu, has done a great job explaining how the AT Protocol works, and she even provided the code for integrating it into your site.

AT Protocol Learn more here

Emily Liu's explanation about the open network Read her article

Sample code about how to make these comments easily available Check out the GitHub gist

In her example, she shows how you can use Next.js to abstract the comment sections from a thread based on the post URI. This allows you to easily link discussions on BlueSky to your content.

As we can see, it’s much easier to follow up and a wiser option for engaging purposes.

Why this is game-changing

What I love about this setup is how efficient and streamlined it is. I no longer need to worry about maintaining a comment section or dealing with spam. Instead, I can just focus on creating valuable content, and the conversation happens naturally on BlueSky.

This setup is a perfect example of how decentralization is not just a trend, but a practical solution to problems like content moderation, community engagement, and ownership. By utilizing tools like BlueSky and the AT Protocol, we can shift away from traditional models and embrace a more sustainable and community-driven approach to online discussions.