Keeping up with friends on Mastodon and Bluesky

One friend uses Mastodon, another uses Bluesky, and you would like to keep up with both. That is an ordinary social wish. Connecting the services should be work for the software, so friendship doesn't require everyone to agree on an app first.

Mastodon is part of the Fediverse and uses ActivityPub to exchange posts and replies with other services. Bluesky uses ATProto, the protocol behind the Atmosphere. They are different technical systems, each giving developers a way to build social experiences beyond one website.

TouchGrass works with both. You can follow a Mastodon address through its ActivityPub connection. Linking your Bluesky account brings in posts from the people you follow there and lets you reply. Those connections fit into a social network centred on people you have chosen to keep up with.

Knowing the two names helps explain what you are connecting, but maintaining the connection should not become a hobby you need to take up. We think interoperability earns its place when it makes an ordinary action easier: finding a friend, reading what they shared and having a conversation.