Anuj Ahooja: Bridges, The Last Network Effect

Anuj Ahooja gives a talk at ATmosphere Conference 2025 in Seattle

The energy in the room over the last few days has been amazing. I thought I’d be tired today, but the moment I walked in and started talking to people, I was ready to go.

Today, I want to talk about something I’m really passionate about: Bridges, which I’ve been calling the last Network effect. Originally, this talk was titled “People Not Platforms,” but I think “Bridges” frames the concept better.

Introduction

I’m Anuj Ahooja, and alongside Ryan Barrett, I’m building a new social project focused on multi-protocol systems for the open Social Web. One example is Bridgy Fed, a bridge connecting Web ActivityPub and AT protocols. I also write extensively on my blog about the open Social Web and technology in general.

One recurring issue I see in tech is how products tend to degrade over time. Platforms you love become financially driven and restrictive, which is especially painful with social media. Communities you’ve built can vanish overnight—like Google+ shutting down, Reddit’s API changes, or, more recently, the changes with Twitter.

Instead of dwelling on the past, I’ve been thinking about where we go from here and how we can prepare for the next moment when users need to migrate.

The Open Social Web Migration

Recent missteps by X have triggered waves of migration to other platforms like Blue Sky, Threads, Mastodon, and PixelFed. These four platforms are all built on open protocols, meaning users can connect across them in interesting ways.

Here’s the exciting part: because these platforms are open, other social networks are starting to adopt protocols too. They can tap into existing networks instead of starting from scratch. This leads to what I call the last Network effect:

If we reach a critical mass on the open Social Web, and users can migrate easily across multiple platforms, there’s less incentive to silo themselves.

Being part of the open Social Web lets users stay connected over time, even as platforms evolve.

Protocols and the User Experience

A challenge we face is protocol choice. Some protocols like ActivityPub have UX issues, and as more platforms adopt them, these issues will multiply. AT protocols have solved many UX problems, but the ecosystem still lacks options.

The key is catering to today’s users while preparing for the future. We need to work across different protocols simultaneously, learn from each other, and improve user experiences across the board.

Most users don’t care about underlying protocols—they care about connecting with people. Choosing a protocol is like choosing furniture: users pick what works for them and adapt from there.

Fragmentation and Complexity

Currently, users face fragmentation challenges. For example, someone leaving X wants to find their friends and communities, but each open protocol requires different accounts, causing confusion. Existing tools like Buffer, Croissant, Open Vibe, Surf, Reader, and Tapestry help by combining feeds or cross-posting content. Tools like Skybridge allow Mastodon clients to interact with Blue Sky accounts.

While these tools reduce friction, they still carry some old social media problems: signing up for multiple accounts, managing multiple discussion threads, and dealing with fragmentation.

Bridges and Bridgy Fed

After exploring solutions, I landed on Bridges, specifically Bridgy Fed, built by Ryan.

Bridges enable cross-protocol communication. For instance, an ActivityPub user can join a bridge and feel native on Blue Sky.

Bridges create a cross-protocol network for the open Social Web, accelerating the last Network effect.

Bridgy Fed is already widely used, with nearly 100,000 users. Examples include:

Jay Graber, CEO of Blue Sky, bridged over to the Fediverse.

Eugene RKO, founder of Mastodon, bridged to Blue Sky with 3.3K followers.

David Amel, co-host of the Waveform Podcast, bridged PixelFed to Blue Sky for photography.

Ghost, for their ActivityPub beta, bridged blog posts to Blue Sky.

Mike McHugh, CEO of Flipboard, bridged Flipboard Doo to Blue Sky.

The takeaway: users care about people, not platforms. They want to follow who they care about, regardless of the protocol or platform. Bridges make this possible.

Future Vision

A cross-protocol network allows:

Users to move across platforms without losing relationships.

Maintaining communities even across different protocol ecosystems.

Seamless interaction across platforms, which helps reduce fragmentation.

We should continue building on protocols, but also build bridges, not walls, to help users find their communities and stay connected.

If you want to follow me across the open Social Web, I’m everywhere there. Thank you all for your time!