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25 mn and counting… Bluesky on way to replace Twitter aka X

The exodus of social media users from X, originally launched as Twitter, to Bluesky has gain further momentum as the new platform added over 5 million new users in two weeks

Saturday December 7, 2024 9:59 AM, ummid.com Technology Desk

25 mn and counting… Bluesky on way to replace Twitter aka X

[AI generated image used for representation]

The exodus of social media users from X, originally launched as Twitter, to Bluesky has gain further momentum as the new platform added over 5 million new users in two weeks.

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey had announced the launch of Bluesky in 2022 while talks were still on for Twitter (later renamed as X) takeover by Elon Musk.

Originally developed as an internal project and decentralised concept in 2019, Bluesky was finally rolled-out in February 2023 as invite-only platform available to select users. In February this year, however, it was made available to the general public and open to all.

With just 2 million users in September 2022, Bluesky gained momentum after it was available to all, crossed 20 million subscriber mark on November 19, 2024, and added another 5 million users since then.

But, Bluesky is still catching up to X’s 600 million monthly users and the 275 million monthly users on Meta’s Threads app.

With 25 million subscribers in its kitty, Bluesky headed by Jay Graber is now planning monetisation of the platform but not at the cost of "user experience".

“I think the ways we would explore advertising, if we did, would be much more user intent-driven,” Graber said. “We want to keep our incentives aligned with users and make sure that we’re not turning into a model where the user’s attention is the product.”

Anger against X

The huge interest in the platform was seen during and after the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections when new X owner Elon Musk openly endorsed Republican Donald Trump and used the platform to promote him.

The available data shows, Bluesky added more than 10 million users since July 07, 2024 when the U.S. election result was announced.

X users were also upset because of “unfriendly” changes and "unfair content moderation practices" introduced in the social media platform and “its brazen commercialisation” by Elon Musk and the reinstatement of accounts banned for hate speech.

Why shift from X to Bluesky?

Explaining why users are interested in Bluesky, the Economic Times, in a report said the X rival is a decentralised microblogging platform that promotes user privacy and control, and aims to offer a refreshing alternative to users, branding itself as "social media as it should be".

Bluesky features a user-friendly interface which is a close look-alike of early Twitter while capitalising on a decentralised architecture for enhanced security and autonomy.

Although Bluesky allows users to post short messages, photos, and videos and send direct messages, its defining feature is its decentralised framework, enabling data storage on independent servers rather than centralised company-owned servers.

"Innovative Architecture"

This innovative architecture enables users to join or establish servers that reflect their community values.

Unlike X, which relies on algorithm-driven feeds, Bluesky limits visible content to posts from user's followed accounts. This straightforward, user-centric approach has attracted individuals frustrated with X's complex feed mechanics and overwhelming content.

The sudden switch to Bluesky from X by users comes amid significant political shifts and user dissatisfaction with the Musk-owned platform.

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