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 #

Vibe Creation: Communities emerge when #vibe-topic_name reaches critical mass
Content Submission: Users submit blips to vibes with tags for categorization
Community Engagement: Others groove on blips, driving popularity
Radar Discovery: Trending tagged content surfaces on the frontpage
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 #

First Use: Creates universal tag record in ATProto
Association: Links to blips via BlipTag junction records
Community Growth: Usage count drives popularity
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

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 #

Fork the repository
Create feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
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!

Clone this repository

Blonk 🎯 #