A Social Experience Anchored by Your Domain

How would you like to use one of your domains as your handle across the web? Here’s a first step towards making that a reality.

March 14, 2023

Mike Bal

WordPress.com is an organization — like others within Automattic — that is heavily invested in Open Source and the democratization of the web. We genuinely believe that everyone should have control over their presence, their data, and even their social experiences. That’s why we’re really excited about some of the work Bluesky is doing.

What is Bluesky?

We’re building a new foundation for social networking which gives creators independence from platforms, developers the freedom to build, and users a choice in their experience.

blueskyweb.xyz
Screen show of the bluesky.xyz website and its three column feature list: Federated social, Algorithmic choice, Portable accounts

Think about all of the different pieces tied to any one of your social accounts:

  • Your username – how people identify you in that platform
  • Your connections/network
  • The content you’ve created
  • The media you’ve uploaded
  • The conversations you’ve had with others
  • Your connections to influencers, brands, and businesses
  • Purchases within a specific platform

Now, imagine being able to bring all of that with you when you get frustrated with changes on one social network and rediscover the magic of one you had *almost* forgotten about. 😉

This is exactly what Bluesky is trying to accomplish with its AT Protocol, and we can’t wait to see how it evolves.

That’s so cool! Why is that cool?

So glad you asked!

We’re all probably familiar with the “blue checkmark of officialness” used across many social platforms. It’s essentially a way for users to identify the real accounts for famous and notable people/brands/things.

Bluesky lets you claim a domain that you own as your username/handle, and they automatically verify it by checking your domain for a simple text record. That may sound complicated, but it’s actually quite simple — especially on WordPress.com.

Think of it like any kind of certificate you might get, which often requires a signature from you as well as from some sort of official before it’s considered a verified document. It’s just like that, except that instead of collecting dust, this unlocks a digital superpower: a consistent way for anyone to find the real you (potentially) anywhere on the web.

How do I add a text record to my domain?

I’ll cover some simple steps for those of you who manage your domains here on WordPress.com. If you have domains registered elsewhere on the web you will have to check that registrar’s documentation. If you’d rather just manage it here, you can check out the steps to transfer it over.

Note: You will need an invitation to join to the private beta of Bluesky before you can set up an account and use this feature.

8 easy steps

Step 1: Navigate to the site that your domain is associated with on WordPress.com — if you only have one site you can simply go to WordPress.com.

Step 2: Use the left hand menu to navigate to Upgrades/Domains.

Step 3: Identify the domain you want to use and click on the vertical elipses on the right. Click “view settings.”

Step 4: Click on the arrow to the right of “DNS Records” to expand the information. Click on “Manage.”

Step 5: Click the “+ Add Record” button at the top of the screen.

Step 6: Change the record type from “A” to “TXT.”

Step 7: Add the Bluesky information to your record.

  • Add _atproto in the “domain name (optional)” field.
  • Add the Bluesky “Value” in the “Text” field.

Step 8: Click the “Add DNS record” button.

I’m always pleasantly surprised by how fast our DNS is. In this case, I was able to verify the record in the Bluesky app less than 30 seconds after I saved it on WordPress.com. Here’s what the app looks like while you’re setting up, after it’s verified, and after you officially update your handle.

A screenshot from the Bluesky app showing the account settings and the option to change the user handle.
A screen shot of the Bluesky app showing that the domain was verified.
A screen shot of the Bluesky app showing that the user's handle has been changed to their domain.

If you made it this far, you’re at least a little bit interested. Let us know what piqued your interest in the comments!

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16 Comments

Comments are closed.

  1. gbethpowers Mar 14th at 7:55 pm

    I am always interested in learning. This article is a starting point for something I will definitely look into.

    Liked by 14 people

  2. Jkund Mar 14th at 8:21 pm

    This isn’t even out yet. Why post this now? / what does it have to with our blogs?

    Liked by 6 people

  3. Steve Sawczyn Mar 15th at 1:23 am

    Super excited to see how Bluesky evolves, like many others who just saw this post, I am now on their waitlist. I’d love to see Automattic commit to more projects and initiatives that embrace a more open web. Even simple things like adding Fediverse sharing buttons or even better, Fediverse integrations for WordPress.com blogs would go a long way. Anyway, definitely looking forward to setting up the domain validation with Bluesky as soon as I’m off the waitlist. 🙂

    Liked by 6 people

  4. schaeder Mar 15th at 5:41 am

    ” Add the Bluesky “Value” in the “Text” field.”
    What value? Where an i supposed to find this value…?

    Liked by 9 people

  5. Paddysway Mar 15th at 7:36 am

    Well it should say “wait” instead of “way” and “made” instead of “may”. But about the technology, it’s also easy for governments to easily fallow your footprint online and see what you’re doing. They will be able to control your footprints on the internet much easier. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. But if you’re chasing criminals it’s very good. The more such technology is presented that makes it easier for the user, it allows the company behind the technology to monitor your steps online and it will be easier for companies that have such technology to track you and offer the information to government authorities or agencies. Not all that is presented as “easier” for the users is a good thing. I’m sceptical about this one.

    Liked by 4 people

  6. Dawn Waldron Mar 15th at 8:37 am

    It seems there is a waitlist for the AT Protocol. So do we also have to wait before we can create this record? Thank you.

    Liked by 5 people

  7. thisness Mar 15th at 10:05 am

    This all sounds great but are you also working on integrating with the Fediverse via ActivityPub? Bluesky is hardly off the ground whereas the Fediverse and Mastodon in particular is very much well established and thriving already.

    Liked by 6 people

  8. Gwen07 Mar 15th at 1:07 pm

    “This is exactly what Bluesky is trying to accomplish with its AT Protocol, and we can’t way” to see how it evolves”

    Should “way” be “wait”? Our language is so fluid – conventions are changing with every new day – but your statement of enthusiasm would sound better with ‘wait’ 

    Liked by 6 people

  9. czvasser Mar 15th at 4:34 pm

    Fix the typo! Charles Vasser347.375.4228Community Greens

    Liked by 3 people

  10. David Thrift Mar 16th at 5:37 am

    Ok I read the article and sorry, but I’m not sure I follow. Are you saying that I can use this Bluesky service to verify that I own a domain, and once that is verified, I can have my Twitter handle changed to reflect the domain, or is this something that works on another social network specifically related to Bluesky? I’m guessing this probably doesn’t have anything to do with Twitter and I was just wishful thinking lol.

    Liked by 5 people

  11. Jai Joshi Mar 20th at 5:53 am

    What’s up with the invite code? When is it going be available for users? It’s looks stupendous, anyways.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. nickmccloud13 Mar 21st at 5:16 am

    Privacy is 🔑 but I need multiple websites. Why delete WordPress when we could just seperate the two & just give Jetpack the juice. The closer you get the more transparent the gold gets. Gold so pure you can see through it! ⭐️🏆⚜️🏅👑👸🤴🔱⚱️🫅🥧

    Liked by 3 people

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