Periwinkle makes private networking on Bluesky’s AT Protocol easy

The beginning of Berlin Periwinkle It offers a new way for those who want to leave the centralized social media controlled by Big Tech companies. Rather than joining a well-known, open-source social media platform like Mastodon or Bluesky, Periwinkle allows anyone to set up their own social media account, under their own control.

Built on top of the AT Protocol, the same open source technology that powers the X others BlueskyPeriwinkle aims to provide the essentials you need to manage your social media.

This means that you can have an account on your website on a site like Bluesky, or a website with your team or community. Periwinkle provides domains for purchase and allows you to store information, including records, results, and your profile, on your PDS (your data server), which is part of the AT Protocol architecture.

Periwinkle makes customization easy for non-technical users or others who don’t want the headache of setting up and maintaining their own server. Once at Periwinkle, users’ servers are managed, supported, and managed by the company, leaving the user to focus on posting to social media.

“We will be the first to sell fully managed PDS services; no one else is doing this right now,” says founder Periwinkle. Charles Blumenthal. (To be clear, there are other organizations that offer alternatives to Bluesky’s PDS, such as Blacksky(but its tools are focused on those who are creating autonomous communities on the Internet.)

This idea is similar to how people who want to create their own blog can choose between an easy-to-use blog on WordPress.com, a DIY installation using the open source software from WordPress.org, or something in between – such as a WordPress installation managed by a third-party provider. Periwinkle offers the same, but for social media.

Blumenthal, a former McKinsey software engineer, says that the idea came to him after he realized that many people did not really understand the AT Protocol and its benefits.

“It’s not a very good idea that a few billionaires can control how billions talk,” he told TechCrunch. “If you were to leave Twitter for another race and all your followers and everything you’ve got and everything – it’s up to you, and you’d just go in – you would, wouldn’t you?”

Development of the AT Protocol-powered app Bluesky, which now he has said more than 43 million registered users, shows that there is a need for this type of offering, Blumenthal said, adding that he believes that this market can increase over time to include people who want to have their own data, instead of relying on another company.

Periwinkle’s advanced plans start at $4 per month for the Basic Plan supported by five handles and 5GB of storage, with real backups and a choice between hosting in the EU or the US. Custom business plans are also available.

A free plan is available for those who want to try the service, with 500MB of storage.

These plans can be useful for those who want to have a little control over their social media accounts, such as government officials or politicians, or accounts managed by businesses. Over time, the company plans to add more tools such as post removal, storage tools, and more.

Blumenthal is currently the sole founder, and the company is currently self-funded, although it has been in talks with investors in Europe, he said. Over time, he plans to bring in an engineer and a sales associate.