Modern Web

Building a TikTok-Style App with React Native & Expo: Interview w Skylight Social CTO, Reed Harmeyer


Listen Later

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/




...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Modern WebBy Modern Web

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

12 ratings


More shows like Modern Web

View all
Software Engineering Radio - the podcast for professional software developers by se-radio@computer.org

Software Engineering Radio - the podcast for professional software developers

272 Listeners

The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source by Changelog Media

The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

283 Listeners

Talk Python To Me by Michael Kennedy

Talk Python To Me

591 Listeners

Software Engineering Daily by Software Engineering Daily

Software Engineering Daily

627 Listeners

Soft Skills Engineering by Jamison Dance and Dave Smith

Soft Skills Engineering

272 Listeners

Data Engineering Podcast by Tobias Macey

Data Engineering Podcast

141 Listeners

Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats by Wes Bos & Scott Tolinski - Full Stack JavaScript Web Developers

Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

983 Listeners

CoRecursive: Coding Stories by Adam Gordon Bell - Software Developer

CoRecursive: Coding Stories

189 Listeners

Techmeme Ride Home by Brian McCullough

Techmeme Ride Home

941 Listeners

Practical AI by Practical AI LLC

Practical AI

189 Listeners

The Stack Overflow Podcast by The Stack Overflow Podcast

The Stack Overflow Podcast

64 Listeners

PodRocket - A web development podcast from LogRocket by LogRocket

PodRocket - A web development podcast from LogRocket

58 Listeners

Latent Space: The AI Engineer Podcast by swyx + Alessio

Latent Space: The AI Engineer Podcast

76 Listeners

Front-End Fire by TJ VanToll, Paige Niedringhaus, Jack Herrington

Front-End Fire

9 Listeners

The Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely Orosz

The Pragmatic Engineer

52 Listeners