Blacksky launches Acorn to help creators build independent communities

Blacksky has launched Acorn, a platform that allows organizations and creators to build their own online communities as an alternative to centralized social media. The platform uses the same underlying technology that powers the decentralized social media app Bluesky, which is built on the AT Protocol—a decentralized social networking protocol. Blacksky’s historical focus has been on building tools to provide a safer online space for members of the Black Twitter community. With Acorn, the company is opening up its infrastructure to help other groups establish independent spaces.

The launch comes at a time of shifting dynamics for major social networks. X recently announced it was shutting down its own Communities feature, leaving users looking for alternatives. Meanwhile, parent company Meta faces scrutiny as a wave of automated bans across Facebook and Instagram has wiped out some users’ social media accounts and Facebook Groups, even though these affected users represent a small fraction of Meta’s overall user base of billions. Additionally, social media services face tightening regulatory pressure in global markets, where some have even banned the services from being used by minors.

Acorn allows communities to deploy its tools on their own domains. The platform offers several features to help creators manage their spaces:

• Feed Customization: Creators can build custom feeds focused on specific topics and set up dedicated tabs for announcements or resources.
• Moderation Tools: Communities can define their own moderation policies, manage reporting flows, and use tools to police bots and trolls.
• Onboarding and Engagement: Creators can build “Starter Packs” to suggest follows for new members and use reputation systems like custom badges.
• Analytics: Built-in analytics help track member growth and engagement patterns.

Some communities may choose to run their own PDS (Personal Data Server), which is a key part of the AT Protocol’s infrastructure. Currently, the average customer price for Acorn is roughly $100 to $150 per month. Longer-term, Acorn will move to a tiered SaaS model that scales with community size.

The platform’s name is inspired by the adaptable and resilient community Octavia Butler penned in “Parable of the Sower” in 1993. Rishi Balakrishnan, Acorn’s lead software engineer, explained that the platform’s development was entirely adaptive. “We didn’t plan to build out the full infrastructure stack we have now — a stack that provides complete independence of Bluesky. Each step was adaptive and based on community need. Acorn shares the knowledge and infrastructure we’ve gained from building alongside the Blacksky community so that other communities can grow in the same way — allowing them to keep focus on their missions/people without needing technical expertise,” Balakrishnan said.

Why it matters

Acorn provides a decentralized alternative for organizations and creators to build communities they control, specifically targeting users displaced by X’s decision to shut down its Communities feature and those frustrated by Meta’s automated account bans.