Honest to blog, blogging was probably really the thing that hooked us into the ATmosphere. Sure, we started with BlueSky as a microblogging situation but when other blogging platforms started popping up in the ATmosphere, we were intrigued and immediately jumped down the ATproto rabbit hole!
There are so many options for blogging in the ATmosphere that you could literally spend an entire day just exploring them all - maybe two or three days. So for now, we want to focus on the 3 major players in the space and invite you to discover even more blogging apps. Each of these will eventually have their own "Explore" posts on the blog, but we're starting here!
The Players
We recently read a post by an ATproto blogger where they gave each of these 3 blogging platforms personalities and drew them as OCs. It's an unbelievably creative and accurate representation of what these players are like and we strongly suggest checking the post out (even if some of it might be out of our scope).
🚀 Leaflet
We must start with Leaflet, as that is where we are. It was also the first ATproto blogging platform that we discovered, the key that unlocked the whole thing! And we may be a little bias in saying this, it's leaps and bounds ahead of the other players in this space (sorry, not sorry).
Leaflet is not only a blogging platform. It also let's you create standalone documents that you can share with the world and acts as an RSS reader for all the blogs published in the ATmosphere (that are using standard.site - don't ask us more about that though...).
Leaflet lets you create multiple blogs on literally any topic and is really invested in what their community wants and needs. They have huge customization options, various types of embedding capabilities, formatting for days! Posting on Leaflet is quick, easy, chill and it's very simple to share your posts to your BlueSky.
We honestly can't rave enough about Leaflet!
🚀 Offprint
Offprint is often described as the "serious" blogging platform. It's whole setup gives you the feeling that important words belong here. Originally, they promoted themselves as a Substack-alternative and that is the type of vibe they give.
Offprint is still developing a lot with more features in a "coming soon" state. You can also pay to upgrade (as you can with all 3 major players) to unlock additional features. Currently on Offprint, assuming we're talking about the free version, you can have one publication, color and font customization and a built-in subscriber popup.
Again, they're still developing a lot, so there's a lot that has been proposed for Offprint that isn't live yet. However, the potential is massive!
🚀 Pckt
Pckt (said like "pocket") is always characterized as a sort of caffeinated, energetic, bubbly sort of blogging platform. While you can post serious stuff here, it feels like a place to play and be happy and show off all the shiny things you like.
Like Leaflet, Pckt is more than a blogging platform. It also allows you to read blogs from all over the ATmosphere and just recently released it's own microblogging capabilities, perfect for when you have something to say but not enough to write a whole post about it.
With Pckt, on the free version, you get one blog and are limited to 15 posts a month. They also have pretty great customization options and are very receptive to feedback.
Honorable Mentions
While the big 3 are dominating the space, there are still so many other blogging platforms in the ATmosphere to explore. Whether you're looking to start a simple blog using markdown or a complex arts and sciences blog that allows graphs and sheet music, the options are virtually endless.
Explore more publishing options like GreenGale, Lemma and mochott on the ATStore.
Any other thoughts?
Did we miss something important in this post? Do you have more to say about blogging in the ATmosphere? Any other blogging-related thoughts? Leave them in the comments below!