My friend, Mark Cuban, posted a TikTok video offering to invest in any startup that could demonstrate a viable replacement for TikTok built on the AT Protocol (the decentralized open protocol that Bluesky is built on). He emphasized the protocol’s extensibility, which prevents any single entity from monopolizing or closing the platform. The call to action is crystal clear: developers with the capability to build a minimum viable product should reach out – Cuban is open to investing in promising projects.
The demand for at least one open social app is surging, as evidenced by Bluesky’s rapid user growth (expanding from 10 million to more than 27.6 million in recent months). The AT Protocol’s design allows users to create their own social networking servers and apps, ensuring account portability and data retention across different servers.
As of today, it looks like TikTok is safe (at least for a while). Is it possible to build a replica of the most addictive, dopamine-hit-producing app ever created with a decentralized open protocol? You tell me.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various generative AI models.