Claiming My Identity on Bluesky

Several months ago, I decided to take control of my online identity on Bluesky. Instead of settling for yet another platform-generated username, I wanted something more meaningful—something I already owned: my domain, islandinthenet.com. It wasn’t a technical challenge so much as a philosophical one. The underlying technology was straightforward enough; the idea behind it felt surprisingly subversive.

I’ve always believed in owning your digital identity. For nearly two decades, I’ve kept a personal blog under this domain I purchased, wrote posts here, and considered it my permanent home on the internet. Platforms come and go—MySpace, Vine, Google Plus—but your domain can remain stable, a consistent presence in the shifting sands of tech fashion. Using my domain as a Bluesky handle feels less like a gimmick and more like the natural evolution of my digital philosophy. So that’s exactly what I did: I set up @islandinthenet.com as my identity on Bluesky, powered by something called the AT Protocol.

The AT Protocol—often abbreviated _atproto—is Bluesky’s underlying technology, a decentralised identity and social networking protocol. Its purpose is simple: instead of tying your online identity exclusively to a centralised platform, it lets your domain be the centrepiece. You control the domain, you control the identity. Part of that identity layer is the use of DIDs, specifically DID:PLC (a method developed by Bluesky). Bluesky uses this identity, verified through DNS, to prove to itself and everyone else that you really are you.

Practically, this means creating a special DNS entry called a TXT record, something that looks like this:

_atproto.islandinthenet.com   TXT   did=did:plc:ar7c4r47bv7t4zspr6f7chxw  

That odd string—did:plc:ar7c4r47bv7t4zspr6f7chxw—is an example of what’s called a decentralised identifier or DID. Think of it as a globally unique identity anchor. This cryptic line is just DNS’s way of saying: “Trust me, this domain really belongs to the person with this identity.” It associates your domain directly with a DID. Once set up, when you log into Bluesky, you simply go into your profile settings and swap out the generic handle for your own domain. The app reaches out, finds the _atproto record, verifies it matches your account, and voilà, you’re @islandinthenet.com.

The reason this matters is subtler and far more interesting than the mechanics themselves. Why go to the trouble at all? Why not just let Bluesky—or Twitter or Threads—give you an easy handle and move on with life? Because identities created on someone else’s platform are always precarious. The company can ban you, shut down, or simply drift out of fashion. Any investment you’ve made—time, connections, reputation—vanishes overnight.

Owning your digital home changes the game entirely. It becomes your online centre of gravity. If Bluesky ever disappoints, you can point your domain elsewhere without losing who you are online. It’s like having an email address you control rather than depending solely on Gmail. Your address, your rules.

This idea isn’t new. It’s the foundational principle of the IndieWeb: a movement advocating for a web built around people, not platforms. But lately, as platforms come and go faster than ever, it’s begun to feel less like an optional luxury and more like basic digital hygiene.

Your domain gives you portability and permanence. It doesn’t matter if tomorrow’s hot new platform is decentralised, federated, or hosted on Mars—your identity remains stable, something you genuinely control.

I realise this sounds idealistic, possibly even impractical, but it isn’t. Setting up the _atproto DNS record took me about five minutes, and it worked flawlessly. The hardest part was getting past the feeling of doubt—why bother?—which always creeps up when you do something slightly off the beaten path. But the immediate payoff, the quiet satisfaction of autonomy, justified the effort many times over.

For those of you who’ve read this far and might already be on Bluesky, you can find me at @islandinthenet.com. It’s not just an invitation to follow me—it’s proof of concept. It’s a tiny flag planted in the ground, marking territory that is distinctly, permanently mine.

Ultimately, what seems at first like a minor technical adjustment is actually part of a much larger and more meaningful story. Owning your online identity is about asserting autonomy, maintaining continuity, and ensuring resilience. It’s not vanity; it’s pragmatism. As platforms rise and fall, your digital self remains stable, defined not by someone else’s terms but by your own.

If you’ve never thought about using your own domain as your digital identity, it might be time to start. Platforms will always promise convenience, but convenience shouldn’t cost you control. Your digital home should always belong to you.

The blog post was written in late March and scheduled for publishing today. As of 23 April 2025, Bluesky has now formalised additional verification layers, but the foundation remains unchanged—my domain handle is still my strongest claim to a portable, platform-independent identity. Bluesky caught up. I was already verified.

I am using the Webmention,, Syndication Links,, Post Kinds, IndieNews, and IndieWeb plugins as well as IndieAuth, WebSub, WebFinger, NodeInfo and ActivityPub plugins. My post is marked-up with syndication to BlueSky, indieweb.social and micro.blog but fuck it, Validate h-entry can’t see any of it for some reason I can’t fathom.