Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized social network, has become a popular alternative to Twitter despite being in closed beta for only two months. The service, which started as an internal project at Twitter in 2019, aims to create an open source decentralized standard for social media. Bluesky became an independent project in 2021 and ended its association with Twitter in 2022 after Elon Musk’s takeover of the company. CEO Jay Graber now oversees the project, with Dorsey having a seat on Bluesky’s board.
Bluesky has already gained significant traction, with the iOS app being downloaded over 375,000 times and becoming one of the most popular social media apps in the Play Store. The service currently has around 65,000 users, and demand is far outstripping the number of available invites, with codes selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay. Bluesky’s popularity is partly due to its invitation-only status, which has prevented trolls, bots, and spam from infiltrating the platform and has kept it more usable for high-profile accounts and marginalized individuals.
Bluesky’s interface is almost identical to Twitter, with a chronological timeline of accounts users follow and an algorithmic “what’s hot” feed that surfaces popular posts or “skeets.” However, Bluesky does not yet have as much functionality as Twitter, such as direct messages or video support. The invite system is meant to ensure the platform grows organically and prevent spammers and others from easily gaining access to the platform.
The recent influx of users exposed a technical glitch known as the “hellthread,” causing long threads with lots of replies to break in the app’s main feed while users continued to receive notifications for new replies. Despite the glitch, Bluesky’s popularity continues to grow, with notable Twitter users like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, James Gunn, Chrissy Teigen, and Rian Johnson joining the platform. Bluesky has also welcomed Black and transgender voices, sex workers, and shitposters, making it a diverse and inclusive space.
Bluesky’s popularity highlights the appeal of a decentralized social network and the desire for a more user-friendly platform without trolls and bots. While it may not yet have the same functionality as Twitter, its popularity suggests that Bluesky has the potential to become a significant player in the social media landscape.
