Over on our blog, we’ve shared an in-depth look at an experiment we recently ran on fundraising — and by extension, what advertising might look like on open social media.

The complete elimination of American federal funding for public broadcasting in July 2025 created an unprecedented crisis for NPR and PBS, with Congress clawing back $1.1 billion over two fiscal years. Against this backdrop, we decided to help out while also learning more about the future of sponsored content on ATProto.

In short, our dollars went three times further on Bluesky than they would on any other social platform. These results become even more impressive when you consider that it occurred on a platform without native advertising infrastructure, using our year-old third-party solution with zero personalization or targeting. Traditional platforms rely on extensive user data and sophisticated targeting algorithms, with decades of optimization and massive scale – yet Graze matched (or exceeded) their performance right out of the gate! If you’re thinking about how to get your message to an audience, it’s time to get serious with Graze!

Upgrades and Improvements:

Bluesky has rolled out a new version of its app this week, and it gave us a powerful new tool for feed creators. You can now choose to see more or see less of the content in a custom feed

You can use this right now to threshold your feed by what readers are actively flagging, and access a summary of reader actions taken on articles to learn what's working and what isn't!

Here’s how @zombiegomoan has implemented a short-term sticky post at the top of the feed encouraging members to use the feature:

You can add this node, and tweak it as much as you like:

And you get clear feedback in your dash about what your community is enjoying and what they’d like to see less of:

Take it out for a spin!

Get to know the Fold:

Each newsletter, we’ll chat to someone who is using Graze to do awesome stuff. If you’d like to share your work with us, reply and let us know!

This week we’re chatting with Ellie who is the Creative and Business Development Director at Graze Social!

When did you join Bluesky and why?

I joined early this year! It's the one of the only platforms that doesn't feel like it's actively trying to make me miserable. It's so easy to find niche groups that you're interested in and I don't feel like I’m getting manipulated by an algorithm trying to keep me doom-scrolling.

What inspired you to get involved with Graze?

I had spent the last few years building expertise in museums and educational product development and was looking for a place where I could expand those skills and learn completely new things. The timing worked out perfectly! Working in museums taught me that the strongest communities form around shared curiosity and creativity, where people naturally connect with others who share their interests and values. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help build platforms focused on creating real communities where people actively support and lift each other up, and work toward a more equitable future where everyone's creativity and knowledge is valued and belongs to themselves.

How do you explain feeds to other people?

It's kinda like choosing which conversations you want to join at a big party. Instead of wandering around hearing bits and bobs of conversations you aren't interested in or even want to avoid, you can tune into the exact conversations and circles that matter to you.

What do you think is the future of social media?

I think we're finally at the point where real people have real power in shaping the future of social. I'm excited about platforms that make it easy to find your people and stumble into new interests, and not feel like you're being farmed for data and attention.

Come and say hello:

We’re building a great community of Graze users supporting one another in the Discord. We’d love to see you there if you’re starting out with feeds, want help, or just want to find some like-minded people.