Skylight’s Tiktok Alternative Adds Community Curators To The Mix

A startup called Skylight is taking a different attack to short-form video. Instead of restricting users to an algorithmic main feed, arsenic is communal connected societal apps, Skylight is building a organization astir quality curators who station and repost videos to build retired their ain civilization feeds others tin subscribe to.

The option, which launched connected Monday successful nan type 2.0 merchandise of nan app, could entreaty to users who consciousness a increasing consciousness of unease astir accepted societal media platforms and their algorithmic manipulations, arsenic good arsenic those irritated by nan summation of low-quality AI-generated contented that’s now filling those feeds.

Built connected Bluesky’s societal web and its underlying AT Protocol, Skylight first launched successful April to connection an unfastened replacement to video apps for illustration TikTok. Since then, nan app has seen astir 240,000 downloads and 100,000 videos uploaded to its platform. Skylight besides received early backing from Mark Cuban and others.

Like others successful this space, Skylight’s expertise to authenticate users pinch their Bluesky credentials gives it a caput commencement connected building its ain personification base. Today, Bluesky is utilized by complete 38.4 cardinal users, who tin install, run, and log into an ecosystem of unfastened societal apps for illustration Skylight and others built for videos, photos, blogs, wikis, and more.

Image Credits:Skylight

With Skylight’s 2.0 launch, nan institution is focusing connected improved curation. Users tin now create their ain “curator” provender by posting and reposting videos aliases by utilizing third-party devices to build their ain civilization feed.

Soon, nan institution will merge exertion from nan custom feed-building level Graze to let Skylight users to create those civilization feeds wrong its ain app, arsenic well.

To entree nan curated feeds, you simply swipe near from nan main page to browse done nan different selections. If you find a curator you want to follow, you pat nan positive (+) fastener to adhd them to your group of feeds. Those curators you already travel will beryllium included successful this experience.

Image Credits:Skylight

The update includes different integrations pinch services built for nan unfastened societal web, arsenic well. Skylight is partnering pinch nan live-streaming level Streamplace, different work built connected nan aforesaid AT Protocol that Bluesky and Skylight uses. By leveraging Streamplace’s technology, Skylight was capable to adhd a live-streaming characteristic to its app without having to build retired nan functionality itself.

Plus, Skylight’s app now offers a redesigned subordinate pinch a full-screen mode and allows users to watch videos successful a split-screen model while continuing to browse profiles aliases hunt for different content.

Image Credits:Skylight

Built by a squad of two, co-founders Tori White (CEO) and Reed Harmeyer (CTO), Skylight generates overmuch of its buzz via TikTok, wherever White’s account, wherever she shares updates connected nan app’s progress, now has complete 63,000 followers.

Those videos tin thief spike app installs, astatine times. Over nan past week alone, White tells TechCrunch that Skylight pulled successful different 20,000 downloads, for instance, moreover earlier nan caller type arrived. In part, she believes this is owed to user liking successful leaving established societal platforms to subordinate open-source societal communities.

Skylight is simply a free download connected iOS and Android and has a roadmap that includes support for different features for illustration music, bookmarks, an relationship switcher, and more.