
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
In this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, Danny Thompson sits down with Reed Harmeyer, CTO of Skylight Social, and Brandon Mathis, React Native engineer at This Dot Labs. They unpack the technical and strategic decisions behind Skylight’s meteoric growth: why they built on the AT Protocol, how they tackled video discovery and scaling challenges, and how a fast-tracked in-app video editor gave them an edge.
Keypoints from this episode:
Skylight Social was built on the AT Protocol, allowing users to retain followers across platforms like Blue Sky and enabling creators to publish interoperable content in a decentralized social network.
The team used React Native with Expo to achieve rapid development and cross-platform performance—launching a high-quality, TikTok-like video experience in just days.
An in-app video editor was prioritized to reduce friction for creators, built using a native SDK wrapped with Expo Modules, enabling features like clip rearranging, overlays, voiceovers, and AI-generated captions.
User behavior data—specifically watch time—drives content recommendations, not just likes or follows, helping Skylight offer a personalized experience while navigating scaling challenges from hypergrowth.
Follow Reed Harmeyer on Social Media
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/reedharmeyer.bsky.social
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reed-harmeyer/
4.4
1212 ratings
In this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, Danny Thompson sits down with Reed Harmeyer, CTO of Skylight Social, and Brandon Mathis, React Native engineer at This Dot Labs. They unpack the technical and strategic decisions behind Skylight’s meteoric growth: why they built on the AT Protocol, how they tackled video discovery and scaling challenges, and how a fast-tracked in-app video editor gave them an edge.
Keypoints from this episode:
Skylight Social was built on the AT Protocol, allowing users to retain followers across platforms like Blue Sky and enabling creators to publish interoperable content in a decentralized social network.
The team used React Native with Expo to achieve rapid development and cross-platform performance—launching a high-quality, TikTok-like video experience in just days.
An in-app video editor was prioritized to reduce friction for creators, built using a native SDK wrapped with Expo Modules, enabling features like clip rearranging, overlays, voiceovers, and AI-generated captions.
User behavior data—specifically watch time—drives content recommendations, not just likes or follows, helping Skylight offer a personalized experience while navigating scaling challenges from hypergrowth.
Follow Reed Harmeyer on Social Media
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/reedharmeyer.bsky.social
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reed-harmeyer/
272 Listeners
283 Listeners
591 Listeners
627 Listeners
272 Listeners
141 Listeners
983 Listeners
189 Listeners
941 Listeners
189 Listeners
64 Listeners
58 Listeners
76 Listeners
9 Listeners
52 Listeners