As Elon Musk continues to tinker, tweak and transform Twitter, another company is vying for its crown as the social media platform du jour.
Bluesky, started by ex-Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, has been positioning itself as the go-to destination for those who are a little troubled or disappointed (as your mother would say in that slightly patronising tone) with Twitter since its purchase by one of the world’s richest men.
The MO of Bluesky isn’t that it’s for everyone – far from it – you’ll need an invite code to join, and even those aren’t easy to come by. Simply go to the website and add your name to the waiting list.
Of course, it helps if you are super famous as a super celebrity or super film star, musician or public figure. Naturally, this means you can get an invite code a bit sooner than others.
However, that hasn’t stopped the platform regularly posting about how its number of users is growing rapidly, along with a list of US “celebrities” such as Chrissy Teigen.
What’s so different about Bluesky?
First of all, while it may look similar to Twitter with a message layout views that are similar between the platforms.
However, Bluesky has used a dynamic algorithm to swap between a feed that revolves around a feed sorted by an algorithm based on “rich experience-led content you’ll love to engage with” (said every social media platform ever, not Bluesky itself) and a chronological view, similar to Twitter’s. If you’ve used Mastadon in the past, this won’t be new to you, but it does provide a refreshing change.
Bluesky also operates on a decentralised network with one server operating the whole of the platform. Upon joining, you’ll participate on on one particular server with its own users, interests and rules.
So far, Bluesky users have praised its inuitive layout, irreverent, in-the-know humour, slightly exclusive air mixed with an egalitarian approach to current affairs and posts. The latter aren’t sorted or bumped up by a system of blue ticks or overtly sponsored content. Instead it’s presented as it comes, much like the early days of Twitter when people would either turn to it for updates on world and hyperlocal affairs.
Photo by Dole777 on unsplash.
Whether it turns into the next Myspace, Bebo or Clubhouse remains to be seen, but that way Twitter’s going, maybe it won’t be long before it joins said defunct websites, despite the strategies designed to halt its slide.
How did Bluesky come about anyway?
Bluesky was originally conceived by Jack Dorsey in December 2019. His idea was to develop a decentralised alternative to social media.
Dorsey felt that this approach would provide a more collaborative and community driven generation of social media platforms, which would put a precedence on honesty and transparency rather than content moderation and algorithms that priorotised some posts over others.
As Twitter comes under increasing scrutiny with each passing day, the case for Bluesky is looking a little brighter indeed.
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