I’ve been hearing a ton about this new platform Bluesky. What is it? Should I join?
Hi there, and welcome back to another week of Ask Trish! Happy December – can you believe that we’re officially into the last month of 2024?! Maybe it’s just me…but it feels like the year really flew by! Even so, we still have a few more weeks for some great Ask Trish content to close out the year. (And then, of course, plenty of content in 2025!)
With that said, a big thank you to this week’s question-er for the fantastic question. You’re 100% right – in the last few weeks, I’ve been hearing and seeing a ton about Bluesky! It’s definitely a very popular, new social media platform, particularly amongst certain segments of the population (more on that below) – so it’s certainly worth diving into. With that said, in this week’s brief post, I’ll talk y’all through (i) what Bluesky is, (ii) why it’s become so popular lately, and (iii) some things to consider if you’re thinking about joining.
Sound like a plan? Let’s get into it:
First and foremost, what is Bluesky? Bluesky is seen as an up-and-coming alternative to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In fact, Bluesky actually launched as an initiative within Twitter back in 2019, and was overseen by then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. It was only more recently, in 2022, that the project spun off into its own independent company. Since then it’s grown tremendously, garnering millions of new users in 2024, including adding one million users in just one week. But Bluesky’s ambitions are not contained to supplanting X. Instead, it’s also currently working on building what it calls “a protocol for public conversation” that could make social media platforms interoperable. “Interoperability,” simply put, refers to making social media work across platforms. In a world with interoperable social media, X users could post and talk to TikTok users and Twitter users…without having to join those platforms! Interoperability, then, would likely minimize the “moats” that Big Tech companies have currently built around their platforms. Interesting stuff, huh?
So, what’s led to this recent explosion of interest in Bluesky? Well, Bluesky was actually an invitation only-space until it opened to the public at-large in February of this year. Since then, lots of users that are frustrated with X–whether because of its changes to its content moderation practices, its leader, Elon Musk, or both–have said goodbye to X and hello to Bluesky. That addition of one million users that I mentioned followed the most recent US Presidential Election, when frustration with Musk and X hit a fever pitch amongst liberals. Bluesky also says that it saw 500,000 new users sign up in October, when X announced that going forward, blocked accounts would still be able to see a user’s posts. Unhappy with these changes, digital citizens are heading elsewhere. In some cases, however, they’re going to Bluesky because they have to. The platform gained 2.6 million users the week after X was banned in Brazil, with 85% of those users coming from Brazil. The end result? 20 million users to date. In addition to left-leaning digital citizens, the platform has become particularly popular amongst journalists, who say that its audience-friendly model helps their content perform better.
So, should you join Bluesky? There certainly don’t seem to be too many downsides…other than having to manage another platform. (Of course, if Bluesky delivers on its vision for interoperability, it might just be the gateway to all social media! In which case, it’ll be a great investment.) A big pro (at least for me, as someone who tends to be quite verbose) is that users can post messages as long as 300 characters. So if you have a bit more to share, you can! And, with so many folks migrating over to Bluesky, joining can be a great way to stay “in the know.” One tip: if you do decide to join, I’d definitely suggest finding a “starter pack.” Starter packs provide a curated list of people and specific feeds to follow. You can select a starter pack that’s in line with your interests…and boom! You’ll have some really interesting content to look at.
I hope you found this post a helpful intro to Bluesky. If you end up joining, let me know in the comments section of this week’s video! And as you’re doing that…please go ahead and share any other internet/tech-related questions you have here. Anything you’re wondering is valid. Trust me, if you’re wondering it…there’s a good chance someone else is, too. Your contribution benefits our whole community – so please, share your question now! Thank you in advance.
Have a great week,
Trish