I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t know if I have time for yet another social media app. While Bluesky is a novel effort, it’s way too early to say if it can replace Twitter.
That is not stopping people from saying Bluesky is the ultimate Twitter clone. I’m not surprised, since you might do a double take when you first see the interface, especially on the web. There’s even a blue interface like Twitter with a butterfly icon instead of a bird.
As a quick backstory: The social media app has been around quite a while and opened to the public last February. There are a few distinct differences, though.
What makes Bluesky unique
The first differentiator is that this is a decentralized app. You can change your handle to use your own domain, pick a different server than the one operated by Bluesky, and rely on content moderation that you can choose yourself or even build your own.
This is a direct response to how Elon Musk has become a pontificator for his X platform, dictating the rules of the game just because he can. I first realized just how much control he has over the platform when I noticed links to my own articles were hidden and harder to identify, presumably as a way to keep you on X longer and not visit one of the links.
Having a heavy-handed dictator run a platform has caused some users to flee X, at least according to some reports. I’m not sure how anyone actually knows how many people have left X for Bluesky, especially since X doesn’t release user data.
Another differentiator is that you can mass-follow people using Starter Packs. Now, with an app like this that’s just starting out, I have to say this is a risky proposition. There are packs for people who like Taylor Swift or follow NFL football. With one click, you can follow everyone in the pack, but it doesn’t always work. If you start following too many people, the Starter Packs either stop working or intentionally block you from following (I suspect the former).
Using Starter Packs, I followed about 1,600 people in 10 minutes. That’s much harder to do on X unless you pay for a service that automatically follows people for you (alas, the one I liked called Staged is defunct). On the downside, all of that following has not led to more than a handful of new followers.
I like the clean interface, and it’s remarkably familiar. The social media app has 20 million users already, gaining about one million per day according to the CEO.
My favorite Bluesky feature
My favorite feature with Bluesky is one that’s much harder to quantify: It just feels safer and friendlier so far. This also happened on Threads when I first started using that app. People who join a new social media platform are often disgruntled and ready for a change. They are sick of the trolls. Meanwhile, trolls stick with the most popular platforms where they can harass more people.
In my interactions so far, browsing through posts and replying, Bluesky doesn’t seem to be as contentious and the vitriol seems to be under control for the most part.
That could change, and I expect Bluesky to evolve quickly now that there are way more users. I also expect the company to launch advertising fairly soon to help pay the bills.
For now, it’s a clean interface and I like what I’m seeing. However, I can’t see myself becoming a diehard fan. I’ll try to build a following per usual, but—like Threads—there isn’t anything here that is holding my attention and making me want to spend hours building up a new network. We’ll see if Bluesky can keep us all hooked.
