Disgruntled X users are once again flocking to Bluesky, a newer social media platform that grew out of the former Twitter before billionaire Elon Musk took it over in 2022. While it remains small compared to established online spaces such as X, it has emerged as an alternative for those looking for a different mood, lighter and friendlier and less influenced by Musk.
What is Bluesky?
It is a decentralised social media platform. It was developed by Jack Dorsey, the Cofounder and the former CEO of Twitter. It was built to create a more open, user controlled social networking environment. This is in contrast to other traditional social media platforms which operate within a tightly controlled ecosystem. Bluesky emphasizes interoperability and decentralisation.
Key Features:
Decentralization with AT Protocol:
Bluesky is built on the AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol), which allows the different platforms to interact seamlessly and gives the users control over their online identities and content.
Interface:
Its interface is similar to that of Twitter, providing features such as chronological feeds, pinned posts, direct messages, and curated “starter packs” to help users connect.
Ad-free and Hate-Free Environment:
Bluesky will focus on creating a lighter, friendlier space that appeals to those frustrated with ad-heavy and polarizing environments on other platforms such as X, formerly known as Twitter.
Why is Bluesky growing?
In mid-November, Bluesky said its total users had surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and talk to others online. The post-election uptick in users isn’t the first time Bluesky has benefited from people leaving X. The platform gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August – 85% of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in one day.
Across the platform, new users – among them journalists, left-leaning politicians, and celebrities have been posting memes and sharing that they were looking forward to using a space free from advertisements and hate speech. Some said it reminded them of the early days of Twitter more than a decade ago.
Why the shift to Bluesky?
Bluesky is a stark contrast to X’s increasingly centralized control and controversies under Elon Musk’s ownership. It has features that would remind one of the early Twitter days, such as chronological feeds, pinned posts, and direct messages. It fosters a lighter and friendlier environment, and users ranging from journalists, politicians, and celebrities are attracted by its ad-free and hate-speech-free space.
What makes Bluesky different?
Bluesky is more than a social network; it’s pioneering a decentralized protocol called the AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol). This technology allows for interoperability, so users can interact across different platforms, breaking down the silos that Big Tech has traditionally created. This vision could fundamentally change how social media works, making it as seamless as email or blogging across platforms.
Building a Decentralized Future with Interoperability
Beyond social networking Bluesky, though, has bigger ambitions than to supplant X. Beyond the platform itself, it is building a technical foundation – what it calls “a protocol for public conversation” – that could make social networks work across different platforms – also known as interoperability – like email, blogs or phone numbers.
Right now, you can’t leave a comment between social platforms to post to someone’s account. The users have to remain within the services if they wish to comment on or like posts on other accounts of services. Most of Big Tech’s businesses are advertisement-focused; it has generally constructed a moat around their online properties that helps it serve such a business model.
Bluesky is trying to reimagine all of this and working towards interoperability.
Challenges Ahead
But despite its growth, Bluesky faces many challenges such as scaling up their infrastructure, attracting diverse users, and competing with established platforms. Success lies here in maintaining its user-first ethos and delivering the promise of decentralized connectivity.
Future of Social Media
Bluesky’s growth reflects the wider shift towards decentralized platforms that would enable users to be in charge of their data and interaction. This can be an eventual revolution on how people relate to each other in the web world.
The history of Bluesky epitomizes an ever-increasing need for the internet and related applications that place emphasis on user discretion and creativity to usher into a new social media era.
