Mixed Signals from Semafor Media Bluesky COO Rose Wang on building a better social network
22 snips
Apr 10, 2026 Rose Wang, COO of Blue Sky and PhD in computing, explains the project’s protocol-first approach to decentralizing social media. She talks about rapid growth, experimenting with creator-focused monetization and subscriptions. Rose discusses modular social components, tools to manage political toxicity, and AI features like Adi for custom feeds.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Open Protocol Origin Changes Social Incentives
- Blue Sky was born from Jack Dorsey's 2019 tweet to build an open social protocol as an alternative to centralized platforms that prioritize ad-driven engagement.
- Rose Wang frames the protocol idea as modularizing identity, feeds, and moderation so thousands of competing apps can be built on the same social graph.
Use Runway To Experiment With Creator Revenue
- Prioritize product value over immediate ad revenue; use VC runway to experiment with creator-first monetization before locking into advertising.
- Rose says they raised capital so Blue Sky can avoid dependency on ads while testing models that pay creators more.
Third Parties Already Monetized Feeds
- Third-party projects on Blue Sky already monetize via subscriptions and advertiser deals, like Graze paying feed builders for curated feeds.
- Rose highlights 6,000 projects built and cites Graze as an example where feed builders found direct revenue.