Technology Bluesky Explained: Why This Social Media Network Is Growing by 1 Million Users a Day

[oldschool]

Content source

https://www.cnet.com/tech/bluesky-explained-why-this-social-media-network-is-now-growing-by-1-million-users-daily/

The social network Bluesky has been growing at a rapid rate ever since the US presidential election concluded. A representative for the company said in an email on Monday that the site now has over 19 million users, and has added over 1 million users a day for the past few days, an increase of over 5.5 million users since the election on Nov. 5. Bluesky is currently No. 1 on the free app section of the US iPhone App Store, beating out popular social network Threads and AI assistant ChatGPT. That's quite a jump since October, when it was at No. 181, according to TechCrunch, citing figures from app intelligence firm Appfigures.


The site's growth of 1 million users a day equals about 12 new users per second. The 19 million user mark compares to 9 million users in September. Although there's no way to determine how many new users left because of X owner Elon Musk's public support for President-elect Donald Trump, many Bluesky users are referencing the election in their first posts. Wired reports that many Taylor Swift fans, a group that once had a large presence on X, are switching to Bluesky.


Bluesky is a social media platform that shares many similarities with X, formerly known as Twitter. X underwent a number of changes after billionaire Musk bought the site and retired legacy blue check marks showing verified accounts, reinstated previously banned accounts and started a new subscription program. On Oct. 16, X announced that it was changing its block function, which allowed people to stop others from seeing their messages on the site. Accounts that have been blocked can now see that person's posts on X if the posts are set to public, though they cannot reply, like or repost them. "That's not blocking," one X user replied. "That's supporting stalking."


The following day, Oct. 17, Bluesky shared a post announcing that it had welcomed 500,000 people in just one day. "First day here," one Bluesky user wrote in response to the company's post about its growth. "Just getting my feet wet. Was a longtime Twitter user but it's a shell of what it used to be." X has also updated its terms of service so that any lawsuits by users against the service must be handled by a federal court in north Texas "whose judges frequently deliver victories to conservative litigants in political cases," The Globe and Mail reports. These latest changes may have sparked the rise of interest in Bluesky, which saw a surge in user accounts earlier this year when X was blocked by courts in Brazil (the block was later lifted when X paid a fine). According to The New York Times, users say Bluesky is the app that comes closest to mimicking X.

Here's a look at what you need to know about Bluesky.

How do I sign up?​

Originally, Bluesky was invite only, but it's been open to all since February. To join, just go to the main page to create an account. You can download the Bluesky app for iOS or Android, or use Bluesky on your desktop. It'll ask for your email address and phone number (to send an authentication code) and tell you to choose a username and password. Then you're in.

How is Bluesky similar to X and Threads?​

If you're accustomed to X, Bluesky's design and purpose should make sense to you. The site uses vertically scrolling messages with small round photo avatars for users and icons under messages showing how many comments, likes and reposts they've received. It looks pretty similar to X's format and Meta's Threads, which is the current No. 2 free app on the App Store, behind Bluesky.

Who's behind it?​

Here's another Twitter/X connection: Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was formerly on the board of directors, and the Bluesky project began in 2019 when he was Twitter CEO. Jay Graber is the Bluesky CEO.

Even Bluesky's name is related to X's former name. Dorsey confirmed a Bluesky user's speculation that the name ties in to Twitter's bird mascot, the idea being the bird could fly even more freely in an open blue sky. Dorsey left the board in May, apparently because the service added moderation tools. Even though the name of the site doesn't capitalize the S in "sky," it's pronounced "blue sky." Don't rhyme it with "brewski."

The app is built on something called the authenticated transport protocol, or AT, a social media framework created by the company and made up of a network of many different sites.

And how is Bluesky different?​

Domains as handles​

For one thing, you can set your domain as your handle, if you wish. This could help with verification, which became a heated issue for Twitter once Musk began removing blue check marks from verified accounts that refused to pay a monthly fee. "For example, a newsroom like NPR could set their handle to be @npr.org," the Bluesky Social company blog notes. "Then, any journalists that NPR wants to verify could use subdomains to set their handles to be @name.npr.org. Brand accounts could set their handle to be their domain as well."

Moderation​

Moderation is also different. Another blog post says that Bluesky is already using automated moderating, and is working on a system of community labeling, which is described as "something similar to shared mute/block lists." Users of many social media platforms are shown posts from a feed selected for them by an algorithm, though you can influence that by following or blocking certain accounts. But Bluesky wants to give you a chance to pick from a variety of different algorithms to determine what you see.

You can mute accounts, which prevents you from seeing any notifications or top-level posts from them, or you can block accounts, which takes that a step further, meaning you and the other account both cannot see or interact with each other's posts. And you can report posts or accounts for abuse. The blocking option may be of special interest to users who were unhappy with X's proposed change in its blocking behavior. A couple of features -- being able to hide replies to your posts and detach your posts from other users' posts that quote yours -- are designed to stop pile-ons and other toxic behavior.

Keeping connections​

It's possible that creators who acquire a following on Bluesky might one day be able to keep connections with those who follow them, even if the service itself changes.

If you want to follow the people you followed on X, the third-party Sky Follower Bridge is a free tool that scans your follower list and follows accounts with the same names on Bluesky. You'll get a few false positives and a lot of dormant Bluesky accounts, but overall it works very well.

Custom feeds​

Algorithms are the rules that determine how content is filtered and recommended to users. Bluesky has something it calls custom feeds, which allows you to choose the algorithm that determines what you see.

"Imagine you want your timeline to only be posts from your mutuals, or only posts that have cat photos, or only posts related to sports -- you can simply pick your feed of choice from an open marketplace," a blog post on the site says. A longer post goes into more detail about custom feeds and algorithmic choice. Click the hashtag icon on the bottom of the app to add and discover new feeds. Developers can use the site's feed generator starter kit to create a custom feed, and the site promises that eventually, the tools will be easy enough that the rest of us can build custom feeds.

Reviews​

The Onion's CEO Ben Collins tweeted in April 2023, when he was a tech reporter for NBC, that Bluesky "works and looks and feels just like (Twitter)," and praised the site's "moderation, desktop experience and reliability." As of Nov. 18, the site has a 4.2 out of 5 star rating on the Apple App Store. "Feels like early Twitter days, but more organic," wrote one reviewer.

Who's using it?​

Here's a small list of some of the people and groups you'll see posting on Bluesky.

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
• Pop legend Dionne Warwick
• The X personality who goes by dril (real name: Paul Dochney)
• US Senator for Minnesota Tina Smith
• Author Stephen King
• Humor site The Onion
• Original EGOT Barbra Streisand
• Star Trek star George Takei
• 17th-century diarist Samuel Pepys
• Web cartoonist Randall Monroe, aka XKCD
• Author Colson Whitehead
• WWW inventor Tim Berners-Lee
• Actor and game-show host Drew Carey
• Author and Defector writer Drew Magary
• The New York Times
• Sci-fi author William Gibson
• God

 

[oldschool]

If you done with Musk's demolition of Twitter, this social site may be for you. You may also want to check this for more info: Bluesky - Wikipedia

And some additional info is in this review. What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the X competitor.

 

[monkeylove]

Twitter wasn't demolished; instead, it grew bigger. Not only that, but Meta, Reddit, and others are doing similar: focusing on multiple features, subscription, and charging others for using their content.

Also, advertisers who left before Musk bought it because their promoted tweets were being shown alongside pedophilia, are now returning thanks to Yaccarino.

Third, Dorsey left Bluesky and went back to Twitter because, as he ironically stated, the mistakes they made in Twitter they were repeating in Bluesky:

Jack Dorsey Reveals Why He Left Bluesky, Deleted Account | Entrepreneur

Twitter/X co-founder Jack Dorsey left the board of Bluesky, an X rival, and even deleted his account earlier this week. He explained why in an interview with Founders Fund's Mike Solana.

www.entrepreneur.com

Finally, his desire for decentralization is what's causing problems at Mastodon, with the spread of illegal content like child porn plus liberals switching to it and then complaining that they're being banned for saying the wrong things. In short, decentralization leads to less engagement and even more censorship, ultimately resulting in small echo chambers that may contain illegal content.

 

[Sorrento]

I have little or no inclination to use any of the so called Social Media platforms available - I did but no more, one of the worst inventions ever

 

[bitsper2nd]

I am on BlueSky. So far I like it. You can add feeds about the things you like to it. They also make it easier to find people to follow with starter packs.

Reminds me of Twitter before Dorsey and then Musk ruined it. BlueSky is not really decentralized. Everything goes through their servers.

What BlueSky is more accessible and open than X and Threads. In the sense you can see what is happening in the code and the site.

 

[monkeylove]

Several moved from X to Mastodon after Trump won, and after that the platform has been receiving tens of thousands of complaints per day because those who moved were being blocked by their allies for incomprehensible reasons. Earlier, one report revealed that for years the platform has been used for illegal activity, such as distribution of child porn.

Irionically, it was something that related to that which is what caused advertisers to leave Twitter before Musk bought it: according to Reuters, their promoted tweets were being shown alongside those supporting child porn and pedophilia. It was Dorsey's content managers that were allowing that; later, it was revealed that they were also colluding with media corporations and even government agencies to target those who did not support their political views.

Musk found out that the company was heavily mismanaged, with an HQ filled with expensive gym equipment and coffee makers, and moderators paid large amounts of money. He had to sell off the first and fire the second to cover losses. The latter complained, stating that the company would fall apart without them; instead, it ran even better.

Later, Dorsey returned, stating that Bluesky's making the same mistakes as Twitter, i.e., it's not exactly decentralized, while ironically returning to Twitter, stating that it's the future. What does this mean?

Decentralization leads to more freedom not only for users but for those who own instances. That means you can post anything you want but those who own the places where you post can block you for any reason. That's what's happening now at Mastodon, where the same critics of Twitter who left it are ironically not only getting a taste of their own medicine but from their own allies who previously left Twitter.

The result are not only echo chambers but small ones. You start with an instance where lots of enthusiastic platform migrants chant until one toxic admin starts blocking one user. Several become disgruntled, leave, form their own instance, and repeat the same process. Eventually, with less engagement and more fear that one might say the wrong thing comes not only lack of engagement but lack of quality of the same, because in an echo chamber everyone says the same things.

This is probably what Dorsey meant when he implied that X is the future, and why he unwittingly admitted that he ran Twitter wrongly: the problem's not lack of decentralization but over-moderation. I suspect he hired content managers who would comply with ESG because that's what investors want, but that was no longer necessary when Musk went private with Twitter.

What does that mean? In platforms like X, you can post anything as long as it's legal, but you can no longer stop others from doing the same simply because you didn't like what they said. In contrast, in decentralized platforms, you can post even illegal things as long as you keep it secure, but you can stop anyone from posting anything, legal or otherwise, for any reason, as you come up with the rules; at the same time, as a user, you can be abused by others in that manner.

 

[Vitali Ortzi]

I am on BlueSky. So far I like it. You can add feeds about the things you like to it. They also make it easier to find people to follow with starter packs.

Reminds me of Twitter before Dorsey and then Musk ruined it. BlueSky is not really decentralized. Everything goes through their servers.

What BlueSky is more accessible and open than X and Threads. In the sense you can see what is happening in the code and the site.

Does it have something similar to X community notes?

 

[bazang]

one of the worst inventions ever

Because of the people on it and because of the people that take what is posted on it so seriously.

Social media has been having multiple corrosive, insidious, and toxic affects on global society. It began when the very first chat rooms and online special interest boards were launched.

What is happening on social media is, as Thanos would say, "Inevitable."

What I always think when I am out-and-about is that among the people I encounter, there are those that cause 98% of the trouble online about this, that, or the other. The overly sensitive people. The people that take offense. The self-proclaimed victims. The batshit crazies. Conspiracy theorists. Then there is good old Orange Man Bad and his Tweets. If I was his Chief of Staff I would open-palm pimp daddy jack slap him and take his phone off him.

Government. What government? Government is now about different factions duke-ing it out on social media. Their government is no longer about solving problems.

 

[bitsper2nd]

Does it have something similar to X community notes?

Nope. Also lacks a bookmark feature.

 

[TuxTalk]

Another one.. omg..... people really have nothing better to do.

 

[TairikuOkami]

Another one.. omg..... people really have nothing better to do.

The more social profiles you have, the more ways you can get insulted and be outraged about it. The thrill of being "hated" is beyond drugs, especially when you can share it with similar cases.

 

[monkeylove]

I have little or no inclination to use any of the so called Social Media platforms available - I did but no more, one of the worst inventions ever

If you think about it, you are posting in one of them right now. That is, such platforms also operate like fora, and for the latter, if you add things like user albums, real-time chat, and blogging features, you'll have something close to them, with the only things missing are online video and audio meets, video and audio libraries, etc.

In this case, I think X, Meta, and others plan to go beyond those, with B2B, retail, banking and finance, and other facilities.

 

[monkeylove]

Because of the people on it and because of the people that take what is posted on it so seriously.

Social media has been having multiple corrosive, insidious, and toxic affects on global society. It began when the very first chat rooms and online special interest boards were launched.

What is happening on social media is, as Thanos would say, "Inevitable."

What I always think when I am out-and-about is that among the people I encounter, there are those that cause 98% of the trouble online about this, that, or the other. The overly sensitive people. The people that take offense. The self-proclaimed victims. The batshit crazies. Conspiracy theorists. Then there is good old Orange Man Bad and his Tweets. If I was his Chief of Staff I would open-palm pimp daddy jack slap him and take his phone off him.

Government. What government? Government is now about different factions duke-ing it out on social media. Their government is no longer about solving problems.

I remember experiencing similar on dial-up BBS forums back in the 1980s.

Given that, I think what's inevitable isn't so much social media as people speaking up and no longer controlled by mainstream media. That said, that's the irony behind Bluesky: it was created because Dorsey and content mods operated Twitter in favor of mainstream media and gov't, and against those seen as "overly sensitive". After that, Dorsey left Bluesky because he realized that he was not going against the "overly sensitive" but was working for them all along.

 

[monkeylove]

The more social profiles you have, the more ways you can get insulted and be outraged about it. The thrill of being "hated" is beyond drugs, especially when you can share it with similar cases.

I think the goal for this one, though, is the opposite: by creating your echo chamber, allowing only certain people to get in, and being in full control of your chamber such that you can ban anyone for any reason, you receive the thrill of being "loved" while getting to dish out "hate" on anyone you don't like.

 

[TuxTalk]

I think the goal for this one, though, is the opposite: by creating your echo chamber, allowing only certain people to get in, and being in full control of your chamber such that you can ban anyone for any reason, you receive the thrill of being "loved" while getting to dish out "hate" on anyone you don't like.

So basically make a Whatsapp Group or Community....... im too old for this sh.. ( like Richard Murtaugh/Danny Glover ) said in the Lethal Weapons movies.

 

[bazang]

people speaking up and no longer controlled by mainstream media.

Social media would be great if it were just people that want to speak up in a rational, intelligent, and civil manner.

The thing I see social media mostly doing, is dividing people. Because people being people are not good for themselves to begin with.

Wars are being instigated on social media. It is so trivially easy to whip people up into a frenzy, restlessness, discontent.

 

[TairikuOkami]

I think the goal for this one, though, is the opposite: by creating your echo chamber, allowing only certain people to get in, and being in full control of your chamber such that you can ban anyone for any reason, you receive the thrill of being "loved" while getting to dish out "hate" on anyone you don't like.

I get that on FB, I block about 20k people already and 5k pages, unlike reddit with mandatory 1k limit. VK's block for example is imaginary, it does absolutely nothing. I see them, they see me.

 

[monkeylove]

Social media would be great if it were just people that want to speak up in a rational, intelligent, and civil manner.

The thing I see social media mostly doing, is dividing people. Because people being people are not good for themselves to begin with.

Wars are being instigated on social media. It is so trivially easy to whip people up into a frenzy, restlessness, discontent.

I don't think that will ever happen, as I experienced similar with BBSes and online fora during the '80s.

Meanwhile, social media's taking over as more people show increasing distrust for mainstream media, which in turn is growing reliant on social media for information.

In light of that, Blueksy tech is helpful because decentralization allows for more discussion, but at the same time more irrational banning. In short, you can actually be banned for speaking up "in a rational, intelligent, and civil manner". You just have to say something that mods or admin don't want to hear.

 

[monkeylove]

I get that on FB, I block about 20k people already and 5k pages, unlike reddit with mandatory 1k limit. VK's block for example is imaginary, it does absolutely nothing. I see them, they see me.

I think that refers to blocking or ignoring others, and that can even be done on X. I prefer blocking in light of ignoring, as the whole point in posting in social media is engagement.

That said, I'm referring to banning. In places like Reddit, some fora, and Bluesky, moderation can be irrational. I prefer moderation where you can only be banned for posting illegal content.

Meanwhile, decentralization creates problems for that, as you can create closed groups and post illegal content, which is what some found out in platforms like Mastodon:

https://www.secjuice.com/osint-mastodon-paedophile-csam-child-porn-problem/

Another benefit, or perhaps not as we'll see later, of Mastodon is that anyone can create an instance. These usually cost about $5/m to run if they have low usage, but the infrastructure can scale (or if you're clever, may not cost the earth) and are exactly as one might imagine - a private social network.

...

There is just one problem with this utopia. Whilst decentralisation of social networking allows communities more control over the rules and infrastructure. It also allows the very worst of society to throw up an instance and perpetrate crimes and abuse. In this particular instance, I'm talking about peadophiles - or as they like to be known, MAPs.

 

[bazang]

Meanwhile, social media's taking over as more people show increasing distrust for mainstream media, which in turn is growing reliant on social media for information.

Lots of people live most of their lives on social media.

A 10 second search of social media will return literally 1,000,000+ truly horrible and insidious things. Unless you surveille the space - FB, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Discord, etc, etc - you have no idea of how truly horrible social media is.

Social media is even more untrustworthy as mainstream media. Anybody can decide to be an influencer or to be a "journalist."

I am fully for governments going full authoritarian to shut down social media. It is worse than just about anything else. Decentralized or whatever. It is not good for people. People are ALWAYS the problem. ALWAYS.