Blonk 🎯#

A place to find blips on the radar of your web, with a focus on vibes.

Blonk is a community-driven content discovery platform built on ATProto that enables organic topic communities to form around "vibes" - interest-based feeds where users submit "blips" (content) to get "grooves" (community engagement).

🌟 Core Concepts#

The Blonk Ecosystem#

🎯 Radar - The frontpage that surfaces trending content across all vibes
🌊 Vibes - Topic-based communities created by community action (#vibe-your_topic)
📡 Blips - Content submissions to vibes that appear on the radar
🎵 Grooves - Community engagement: looks_good or shit_rips
🏷️ Tags - Universal labels that connect content across vibes

How It Works#

1. Vibe Creation: Communities emerge when #vibe-topic_name reaches critical mass
2. Content Submission: Users submit blips to vibes with tags for categorization
3. Community Engagement: Others groove on blips, driving popularity
4. Radar Discovery: Trending tagged content surfaces on the frontpage
5. Organic Growth: Popular content attracts more users to related vibes

Community Seeding#

• 🔥 Hot Posts: AI monitors the Bluesky firehose for trending content (>5 replies)
• Auto-Population: Trending external content auto-populates the bsky_hot vibe
• Community Bootstrap: Seeds engagement to kickstart organic community growth

🏗️ Architecture#

ATProto-Native#

Blonk is built as a first-class ATProto application with custom record types:

• com.blonk.vibe - Community topic feeds
• com.blonk.blip - Content submissions
• com.blonk.groove - Community engagement on specific blips
• com.blonk.tag - Universal content labels
• com.blonk.blipTag - Content categorization associations

Technology Stack#

• Backend: Elixir/Phoenix LiveView
• Database: PostgreSQL with ATProto record sync
• Real-time: WebSocket firehose integration with Bluesky
• Authentication: ATProto app passwords
• Deployment: Docker-ready

🚀 Getting Started#

Prerequisites#

• Elixir 1.18+
• PostgreSQL 14+
• Bluesky account with app password

Installation#

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-org/elixir_blonk.git
cd elixir_blonk

# Install dependencies
mix deps.get

# Set up environment
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your Bluesky credentials

# Set up database
mix ecto.setup

# Start the server
source .env && mix phx.server

Environment Configuration#

# .env
export ATP_SERVICE=https://bsky.social
export ATP_IDENTIFIER=your-handle.bsky.social
export ATP_PASSWORD=your-app-password

🎮 Usage#

Creating Vibes#

Post #vibe-topic_name to create new community vibes:

Check out this cool #vibe-art project! #design #creative

Once enough community members use #vibe-art, it becomes an official vibe.

Submitting Blips#

Submit content to vibes with relevant tags:

Title: "Amazing New Design Framework"
Body: "This changes everything for designers..."
Vibe: design_vibe
Tags: #design #tools #creative

Community Engagement#

Groove on blips to provide community feedback:

• 👍 looks_good - Positive endorsement of the blip
• shit_rips - Critical feedback on the blip

Each groove is linked to a specific blip and drives content visibility on the radar.

Discovery#

• Radar: Trending content across all vibes
• Vibe Pages: Topic-specific content feeds
• Tag Pages: Cross-vibe content by topic
• Hot Posts: AI-curated trending external content

🏷️ Tag System#

Universal Tags#

Tags are community-owned labels that enable cross-vibe discovery:

• One Tag Per Name: Only one #blockchain tag exists globally
• Community Driven: Anyone can use any tag
• Usage Tracking: Popular tags surface trending content
• Rich Metadata: Tags support descriptions and attribution

Tag Lifecycle#

1. First Use: Creates universal tag record in ATProto
2. Association: Links to blips via BlipTag junction records
3. Community Growth: Usage count drives popularity
4. Discovery: Popular tags surface on radar

🤖 AI Integration#

Hot Post Detection#

The HotPostSweeper monitors Bluesky's firehose for trending content:

• Sampling: 1 in 10 posts with links
• Engagement Check: Looks for >5 replies after time delay
• Auto-Population: Creates blips in bsky_hot vibe
• Community Seeding: Bootstraps engagement for organic growth

🎯 Community Philosophy#

Vibe-Driven Discovery#

Blonk prioritizes community vibes over algorithmic feeds:

• Communities form organically around shared interests
• Content quality emerges through peer grooves
• Cross-vibe discovery happens through universal tags
• Trending content reflects genuine community engagement

Decentralized Social#

Built on ATProto for true decentralization:

• Data Portability: Your content, your control
• Cross-Platform: Records work across ATProto apps
• Community Ownership: Vibes and tags are community resources
• Open Protocol: Extensible and interoperable

🛠️ Development#

Project Structure#

lib/
├── elixir_blonk/           # Core business logic
│   ├── vibes/              # Community topic management
│   ├── blips/              # Content submission system
│   ├── grooves/            # Community engagement
│   ├── tags/               # Universal tag system  
│   ├── blip_tags/          # Tag associations
│   ├── hot_posts/          # AI content curation
│   ├── atproto/            # ATProto client & sync
│   └── firehose/           # Real-time data ingestion
├── elixir_blonk_web/       # Phoenix web interface
└── priv/repo/migrations/   # Database schema

Key Services#

• SessionManager: ATProto authentication & session management
• Firehose.Consumer: Real-time Bluesky data ingestion
• HotPostSweeper: AI-driven content curation
• ATProto.Client: Custom record type operations

Testing#

# Run tests
mix test

# Run with coverage
mix test --cover

📈 Roadmap#

Phase 1: Community Bootstrap ✅#

• Basic vibe/blip/groove system
• ATProto integration
• Hot post AI curation
• Universal tag system

Phase 2: Enhanced Discovery#

• Advanced radar algorithms
• User following/recommendations
• Cross-vibe trending
• Mobile app

Phase 3: Community Tools#

• Vibe moderation tools
• Community governance
• Creator monetization
• External integrations

🤝 Contributing#

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Development Setup#

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open Pull Request

📄 License#

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments#

• ATProto Team - For the decentralized social protocol
• Bluesky - For the firehose API and ecosystem
• Phoenix/Elixir - For the robust web framework
• Community - For making vibes happen

Ready to find your vibe? 🌊

Start exploring at blonk.app or run your own instance!