When X shuts down Communities, Acorn releases an alternative that puts developers in control

A new project called Acorn has established a way for organizations and creators to build their communities online as an alternative to centralized social networks such as Instagram, X, and Threads. They use the same base art which supports the Bluesky TV app, allowing communities to create their own homepages, create profiles for new members, and edit feeds and management tools.

Acorn platform is based Blackskya company that is building its social media tools around AT Protocol. The AT protocol was developed by the Bluesky team and is used by others open social media, such as Flashes, Spark, Skylight, Surf, Streamplace, Leaflet, etc.

Until now, Blacksky’s focus has been on building materials to provide a safe place on the internet for members of the Black Twitter community to move to – an effort that so far has included weakening Bluesky, building custom controls, building its AT Protocol implementation, and other technical issues.

With Acorn, Blacksky is offering access to these same tools to other communities looking to create their own social media presence.

This would allow organizations and developers to establish domains that they control, instead of handing that control over to technology executives, leaving them in the hands of immutable algorithms and ever-changing policies. For example, X announced recently was closing its Community Community profileleaving users scrambling to transfer their groups elsewhere.

At launch, Acorn also includes tools to help people onboard new members, customize their diet, plan and manage administrative tasks, and monitor community growth using analytics, among other things.

Like Bluesky, where users can create “Starter Packs” with a list of desired results for newcomers looking to expand their network, Acorn allows communities to create their own starter packs. It also offers recognition systems that help people identify and manage members, using things like badges and awards, as well as tools to police and troll.

Communities can also define the policies that are most important to them, and then access tools to manage reports and other actions, such as downloading or banning accounts, or deleting posts.

Community creators can create their own feeds that focus on topics that are important to their members, and they can create different tabs for important things, such as announcements, events, or resources, for example.

As the community grows, advanced analytics help developers track members’ growth, eating habits, and interactions, to better understand their overall health.

Communities can install Acorn equipment individually, and prices are adjusted according to their needs. Some communities want to use all the tools, which may include running a PDS (Personal Data Server), which is part of the AT Protocol infrastructure. Some may just want the standard Blacksky client version to meet their needs.

The cost to customers is about $100 to $150 per month, but in the long term, Acorn will move to a SaaS (software-as-a-service) model that will grow with the size of the community and the level of resources needed.

Already, Acorn is being used by people with AT Protocol Latinsky and Medsky, as well as a group of filmmakers called The Invite. It is in ongoing discussions with other media companies and non-profits. Those interested in using its programs can join the waiting list from website.

“The name Acorn was inspired by Octavia Butler’s revolutionary and daring team written in ‘The Parable of the Sower’ in 1993. Like Acorn’s fictional team, Blacksky has survived constant change,” explains Rishi Balakrishnan, Acorn’s chief programming officer. “We did not plan to build all the tools we have now – the stack that gives Bluesky independence. Each part was stable and adapted to the needs of the community. Acorn shares the knowledge and infrastructure we have gained by building together with the Blacksky team so that other communities can grow in the same way – allowing them to focus on their work / people without the need for technical expertise.”

Acorn tools have also arrived at a time when social media is happening highly regulated in international marketswhere some have even banned these services from being used by children. At the same time, many people have started to distrust the platforms created by the technology giants, which in the end focus on making a profit from their big advertising business first, and serving the latter second.

Also, a wave about restrictions only on Facebook and Instagram they have it was wiped out Other social media accounts are Facebook groupsleaving them without recourse or recourse for appeal. Although the affected users are a small part of Meta’s billions of users, these people may consider another option when they decide to return to the social network, which makes them ideal customers for services like Acorn to target.