Building Middleware for Bluesky: A Conversation with Blacksky Founder Rudy Fraser
Mar 3, 2025
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Rudy Fraser, founder of Blacksky Algorithms and a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center, dives into the world of social media middleware. He shares his inspiring journey from a childhood passion for video games to creating tools for user autonomy in digital spaces. The conversation reveals the challenges of building Black Sky, a platform designed for Black users, focusing on community support and effective moderation. Fraser emphasizes the importance of decentralized approaches to counter misinformation and foster safe online communities.
The development of middleware, like Black Sky Algorithms, aims to decentralize social media for increased user control and democratic engagement.
Rudy Fraser's journey emphasizes resilience and community support in navigating challenges within the tech industry and fostering inclusive digital spaces.
Deep dives
The Role of Middleware in Social Media Decentralization
Decentralization and the development of middleware are seen as key strategies to redesign social media platforms for enhanced user autonomy and control. Middleware tools can provide users with more agency in how they engage with digital spaces, contributing to a more democratic and pluralistic online environment. The episode emphasizes this concept through the discussion of Black Sky Algorithms, a middleware initiative designed specifically for the Blue Sky platform. The tools created by Black Sky aim to foster safer and more supportive interactions for Black users, reflecting a broader movement toward rethinking social media dynamics.
Rudy Fraser's Journey to Technology and Community Activism
Rudy Fraser’s path to becoming a technologist was shaped by his experiences with technology from a young age, alongside a backdrop of housing and food insecurity. Growing up in Brooklyn, his interest in tech was sparked by video games and modding, but he initially pursued an education in business due to lack of encouragement to enter the tech field. Despite challenges, Fraser eventually found his way into enterprise IT and began advocating for community organizing within tech spaces, culminating in initiatives like Black Sky. His narrative highlights the importance of community support and resilience in navigating personal and professional challenges in the tech industry.
Concept and Implementation of PaperTree
The concept of PaperTree emerged as a response to the logistical challenges faced by mutual aid groups during crises, such as the pandemic. Fraser observed the decision-making struggles of volunteers in managing community funds and proposed an innovative solution: a shared bank account for neighborhoods. This system allows community members to contribute and access funds for essential needs, thereby streamlining assistance in urgent situations. By establishing systems that promote mutual aid and community solidarity, PaperTree aims to address the barriers that prevent effective support for vulnerable populations.
Building a Safe Digital Community with Black Sky
Black Sky is designed to create a safe, self-governing online space for Black users, integrating community moderation and protective measures against harmful content. This initiative reflects Fraser's commitment to fostering safe digital environments, especially as it scales to accommodate a growing user base. The platform employs innovative moderation techniques, allowing users to report harmful interactions and ensuring that moderators can swiftly act against anti-Black harassment. By blending technical solutions with a strong community focus, Black Sky aims to enhance the online experience for marginalized groups, making social media a more supportive platform.
On this podcast, we regularly engage with questions about redesigning social media networks to make them more democratic, pluralist, and prosocial. One hypothesis people have about how to do that is through the decentralization of platforms and the introduction of middleware—tools built to give users more control over their social media experience and, thus, more autonomy in how they engage in public discourse. In this episode, you’ll hear a discussion with one entrepreneur building middleware for Bluesky: Rudy Fraser, the founder of Blacksky Algorithms and a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
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