The social media landscape is constantly evolving, and the rise of decentralized platforms like Bluesky presents both challenges and opportunities. While Bluesky itself is still finding its footing in terms of monetization, a startup called Graze has emerged as a potential pioneer, developing innovative tools that empower users to create custom feeds and, more importantly, monetize them. This has not only caught the attention of Bluesky users but also attracted significant investor interest, signaling a potential paradigm shift in how social media platforms and their ecosystems can generate revenue.
Graze's core offering revolves around empowering users to build, customize, publish, and manage their own Bluesky feeds. This goes beyond the standard algorithmic feeds offered by most social networks, giving users granular control over the content they see. But Graze's vision extends further, enabling feed creators to monetize their efforts through advertising, sponsored posts, and subscriptions, effectively creating a new creator economy within the Bluesky ecosystem.
This approach is particularly noteworthy because it precedes Bluesky's own monetization strategy. Graze has essentially identified a viable business model for the platform before Bluesky itself has fully implemented one, making it a crucial player in the network's growth and sustainability. This forward-thinking approach has resonated with investors, leading to a successful and oversubscribed pre-seed funding round.
"I’ve been doing tech startups for 30 years and this is actually the craziest early-stage growth curve I’ve ever seen," says Graze co-founder and CEO Peat Bakke, highlighting the tool's rapid adoption. "We went from zero — literally no traffic — to serving hundreds of thousands of unique people every day, tens of millions of content impressions. It’s nuts. It’s totally nuts. And it’s all word of mouth.”
Bakke's co-founder, Devin Gaffney, brings expertise in social media and network analysis to the table. Their combined experience, including their previous work on Little Bird, a social data analysis startup that leveraged Twitter's Firehose, has positioned them perfectly to capitalize on the emergence of Bluesky and its "Jetstream," the equivalent of Twitter's Firehose for the decentralized platform. This Jetstream provides access to all public posts from Bluesky's growing user base, which has already surpassed 30.3 million and is expected to continue expanding as the platform gains traction.
The timing of Graze's launch coincides with a significant shift in the social media landscape. Following controversies and policy changes on established platforms like X (formerly Twitter), millions of users migrated to Bluesky, seeking a more decentralized and democratic experience. This influx of users created a fertile ground for innovation, and Graze seized the opportunity to build tools specifically tailored to this evolving ecosystem.
Bluesky's structure differs significantly from traditional social networks. Instead of being controlled by a single entity, Bluesky embraces decentralization, allowing users to run their own Personal Data Servers and set their own moderation controls. This empowers users and fosters a more community-driven approach to content moderation and platform governance. Furthermore, Bluesky encourages the development of custom feeds, allowing users to filter and curate content according to their specific interests.
Graze's platform capitalizes on this decentralized structure, enabling users to create their own algorithms in the form of custom feeds. These feeds can be built using complex logic, multiple filters, and specific rules, giving users unprecedented control over their social media experience. This level of customization is a significant departure from the black-box algorithms that govern most traditional social networks.
The rapid growth of Graze is inextricably linked to Bluesky's increasing popularity. The network's user base has expanded dramatically in the past year, further fueling the demand for tools that enhance the user experience. While Bluesky's interface and functionality may resemble X, its underlying philosophy and decentralized architecture represent a fundamental shift in the social media paradigm.
Graze operates on Bluesky's Jetstream and leverages the atproto protocol, enabling users to build not only custom feeds but also their own websites and applications based on their filtered versions of the Jetstream. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for developers and creators, allowing them to build niche social media platforms and experiences tailored to specific communities and interests.
One example of Graze's versatility is its use by a customer developing a social media platform focused on professional cycling. Using Graze's tools, this customer can create algorithms that identify and track specific teams and athletes, while also implementing moderation controls to ensure a safe and professional environment. Graze has also powered the creation of popular Bluesky feeds like News and BookSky, showcasing its potential to curate and deliver high-quality content to specific audiences.
Furthermore, Graze's technology is being utilized by developers creating "TikTok for Bluesky"-style video experiences, demonstrating its adaptability to various content formats and use cases. This highlights Graze's potential to become a foundational tool for developers building on the Bluesky platform.
Perhaps the most groundbreaking aspect of Graze's approach is its focus on monetization. While Bluesky is still exploring its own revenue model, Graze has taken the initiative to develop a system for monetizing custom feeds, with the blessing of the Bluesky team. This makes Graze a pioneer in the nascent Bluesky economy.
Graze has already conducted quiet tests of sponsored posts on its platform. These ads are integrated into custom feeds, using hashtags to clearly identify them as advertisements. This transparent approach ensures that users are aware of the sponsored content they are viewing.
Graze's advertising model differs significantly from traditional social media advertising. Instead of relying on targeted advertising based on user data, Graze's system requires feed creators to explicitly consent to sponsored posts. This gives creators complete editorial control over the content that appears in their feeds, preventing advertisers from overwhelming users with unwanted promotions.
"Temu can’t just come in and buy like $100,000 of advertising on [someone’s] news feed," explains Bakke. Instead, advertisers propose sponsored posts with a target number of impressions, and feed operators have the final say on whether to include them. This ensures that feed creators maintain control over their content and prevents the platform from being overrun with ads.
Graze also recognizes the importance of user experience. Bakke notes that if a feed creator floods their feed with ads, users will likely abandon it. This inherent feedback mechanism encourages creators to strike a balance between monetization and user engagement.
The pricing of sponsored posts is determined by the feed creator, with Graze initially suggesting a CPM (cost per mille, or cost per thousand impressions) rate of $1 to $3. While this is lower than the CPM rates on other social networks, Graze reports comparable click-through rates and engagement, suggesting that its model could be highly effective.
Crucially, Graze respects Bluesky's privacy guidelines. The ads are not targeted based on the collection of personal data or demographic information. Instead, advertisers target their campaigns based on the content of the feeds themselves. For example, a pet food brand would likely advertise in a feed focused on pets, ensuring that their message reaches a relevant audience.
In addition to sponsored posts, Graze is also developing tools for private feeds, including subscription-based access. This will allow creators to generate revenue by offering exclusive content to paying subscribers.
Graze plans to implement a revenue-sharing model similar to the App Store, with creators receiving 70% of the revenue generated through ads and subscriptions, while Graze retains 30%. This incentivizes creators to build high-quality feeds and attract a loyal following.
Furthermore, Graze is launching a creator marketplace to connect brands and businesses with relevant feeds. This will streamline the process of finding suitable advertising opportunities and facilitate partnerships between creators and advertisers.
Graze, based in Portland, is currently a small team of three, including front-end developer Andrew Lisowski, who is based in San Jose. Despite its size, the company has already made a significant impact on the Bluesky ecosystem, demonstrating the power of innovation and a deep understanding of the evolving social media landscape.
Graze's success story highlights the potential of decentralized social networks to foster new business models and empower creators. By focusing on user control, content customization, and innovative monetization strategies, Graze is not only building a successful business but also shaping the future of social media. As Bluesky continues to grow and evolve, Graze is poised to play a crucial role in its development, demonstrating that a decentralized approach can be both innovative and profitable. The company's early success serves as a compelling case study for other startups looking to build within the emerging decentralized social media ecosystem. It underscores the importance of identifying unmet needs, developing tailored solutions, and embracing the unique opportunities presented by these new platforms. Graze's journey is a testament to the power of foresight, innovation, and a deep understanding of the evolving dynamics of the social web.
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