AT Protocol, Part 2: Explanation For Non-Techies

I recently asked AT Protocol gurus to weigh in on my attempt to put together a simple explanation for fellow non-techies. You can see responses to my post on Bluesky as well as the automated post on Bluesky (duplicate post was my fault; I hadn't noticed the option to customize before a post is shared).

And thank you to those who have subscribed to my Blatherings! Speaking of which -ahem- I have been exploring more block options that can be included in my leaflet posts, and was delighted to find a subscribe block very similar to the one available in Substack:

To fellow Leaflet newbies: you can access the Subscribe and other block types by typing "/" or clicking the "+" in the text composition area.

Resources

Thanks to all who responded, and in the process I was able to collect some more resources that might be helpful to others:

What is the Atmosphere? - by @cozylittle.house (Highly recommended!! added this resource 2026-07-29)

What's an Atmosphere? Helpful links for newcomers to the Atmosphere - by @tynanpurdy.com

The Everything Account - by @quillmatiq.com. Lots of diagrams that help explain The Atmosphere, an "ecosystem where a user's data lives separate from the apps they use."

What is Standard Site, and why is it useful? - by @leaflet.pub

Atmosphere 101: Do I need to make an account? - by @pckt.blog. I wish I read this much earlier!

You can just do things, together - by @graze.social (thanks to @schlage.town for the heads-up). Railroad analogy.

Open Social - by @danabra.mov. Love the stick figure diagram! Thanks to @schlage.town for the heads-up on this post. Also see Dan's A Social Filesystem and There Are No Instances In ATproto (latter includes simple diagrams that help to visually explain).

Publishing on the Atmosphere with Standard.site - by Declan Chidlow at @piccalil.li. Geared toward the more tech-savvy.

Idiot's guide to standard.site - by @fizzylimesoda.nya.je. Explains how standard.site (or "stansite") is similar to rss "except it's different, VERY different." It gives examples of stansite browsers including Leaflet reader, Pckt reader, etc.

Analogies

In general, people weren't crazy about my road analogy (with good reasons!), so I'm abandoning it.

Happily, people had suggestions for other analogies. I ended up deciding not to draw anything yet because I need to think more about how/what to draw, plus after browsing some of the resources above I realize it's clear that I don't yet have a good enough grasp yet to attempt to essentialize.

From @gmcgath.bsky.social:

The "shared road" analogy doesn't work for me. I'd think of the social media web vs. the decentralized web this way: There are a few huge shops, with their loyalty plans to keep you there, that everyone knows how to find. There are a lot of smaller, more interesting shops, giving you more choice, but where do you find them? The AT protocol is like a GPS to let you find the places that interest you.

From @torrent-empress.bsky.social:

An AT Protocol address is basically like a phone number, you can switch out the carrier (Bluesky, blacksky, self-host, ECT) or change the device form/brand (blogging like @leaflet.pub or sites like @blento.app) but it's all attached to the same account. People can still send info to those devices using that number/address. You take your contacts/data with you to any device so long you use the same account + you can move your number over to another carrier and people can still contact you there, they don't have to change your contact info.

From @cozylittle.house:

I've been working with a neighborhood metaphor! The Atmosphere is like a city. Your account is a house where you keep all your stuff. Your bluesky posts, your leaflet posts, regardless of app or format, it goes in the house. You live in a neighborhood, your friends, your follow graph. All the apps are different ways to communicate with each other within the city. Maybe bluesky is like using a megaphone and leaflet is like writing a letter. If you want to try something new, maybe photo sharing like grain? Great! Just pick up that app and start using it. No need for a whole new house, no need for all new neighbors. Just start communicating in a new way :)

@cozylittle.house adds that they like this metaphor because it implies the advantage of AT Protocol: we own our own data. "Yes, there are tools that help make and share things. But just we use roads and parks to connect with each other, our relationships and content belong to us, not some company. That gives us amazing freedom and power."

From @wvgg.co:

I'm gonna admit that I don't care for the road analogy. It makes the point of segregating people into different pools, but cars are inherently anti-social, hermetically-sealed microenvironments designed to *prevent* social interaction. What does it even mean to have an “audience” on a road? One could make the same point by saying “in the current social landscape, everyone is clustered into different rooms; instead, what if everyone was in one big open space?”, not very visually compelling but makes slightly more sense.

Another person (unfortunately their user id translated to"handle.invalid" on Leaflet):

I like your comparison of open data & the firehose to real world infrastructure, but I'm not sure it hammers home why atproto is important. A road is a means to an end, and so a reader might expect there to be start & end points that they want to travel between. Instead the focus is on switching cars, which definitely can be useful irl but might seem like an underwhelming advantage.

I've thought a lot about how to explain atproto over text (not visually!). Here's where I'm at, if you want to compare notes:

All accounts and public posts/activity exist within one big pile, and the apps show you what's relevant. Bluesky, Leaflet, and Blacksky are all examples of different places on the spectrum of how apps can interact: the first just shows you posts that are primarily made with its own app in mind, the second combines its own stuff with a sort of comments section from Bluesky, and the last only shows you stuff that's primarily made with another app in mind. A deep explanation could then reframe this spectrum as one where Bluesky and Blacksky actually exist on the same end as each other, but that might be too much for a simple explanation. I know this doesn't go very deep into the power dynamics of atproto, it's not very visual, and I'm not sure it's the best approach if you want to explain PDS migration, but hopefully it can still be useful to you?

Another way to explain it is to walk someone through what an Atmosphere app could look like for them: use your same account, easily find the same people, maybe even get asked if you'd like to automatically follow the same people, and then what can happen if an app turns evil or shuts down. It tells a practical story but it's not visual.

If you are the person who contributed the above, please let me know who you are, and I'll edit the attribution above....thank you so much for taking the time to reply with such a thoughtful response.

Examples of how AT Protocol may help creators someday:

Based on feedback, I've modified the following somewhat.

Creators can change apps without starting over. With AT Protocol, the goal is that your identity and followers move with you. Your readers don't have to rebuild their connection with you.

Creators have one identity everywhere. Readers will recognize you, not which app you're using. It's similar to owning your own website instead of relying on a social media username.

Creators can be more easily discovered. Today, if someone enjoys your posts on (name platform you're using here), many of us, hope that the reader also notices the link in our profile. With AT Protocol, someone may like your post but will immediately also be able to find your other work without leaving the broader ecosystem. Discovery becomes much more connected.

AT Protocol can help lower the barrier to creating niche communities because new apps can specialize. Someone might create an app just for children's book creators, for example. Or one that looks like Pinterest, or one geared toward poets, etc. Instead of starting from zero users, these apps can connect to the same social network.

Readers can use different apps while still following you and your work. You don't have to convince everyone to use the same platform. @schlage.town adds: "I think a big one is more ownership & flexibility with your experience and that of your audience (custom feeds, apps that can combine data from many places, etc)."

Thanks again to all who offered feedback and suggestions. Feel free to suggest a different analogies or your own "geared toward non-techies" explanation of the Atmosphere, or let me know what works or doesn't work for you in the explanation(s) above.

I still have so much to learn, but at least I feel like I'm getting closer.

-- Debbie