Frustrated X users are once again turning to Bluesky, a fresh social media platform that was born from the original Twitter before Elon Musk’s takeover in 2022.
Although it’s still relatively small compared to big players like X, it’s becoming a go-to spot for folks seeking a more relaxed and welcoming vibe—one that feels less shaped by Musk’s influence.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky, which was pushed forward by Jack Dorsey, the ex-CEO of Twitter, started off as an exclusive invite-only platform. It only went public in February.
This initial phase allowed them to develop moderation tools and other functionalities. The site feels a lot like Musk’s X, featuring both a discovery feed and a chronological feed for users’ followed accounts.
You can also send direct messages, pin your favorite posts, and even check out starter packs that offer curated lists of people and personalized feeds to follow.
What’s driving the growth of Bluesky?
Bluesky announced in mid-November that its user count jumped to 15 million, up from about 13 million at the end of October.
This increase comes as some users from X are seeking a new platform to share their thoughts and connect with others online. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Bluesky has seen a boost from people leaving X.
After X was banned in Brazil back in August, Bluesky gained an impressive 2.6 million users in just one week, with around 85% of those coming from Brazil.
In October alone, there was a day when around 500,000 new users joined after X indicated that blocked accounts could start seeing public posts again.
New users on Bluesky include journalists, progressive politicians, and celebrities who have been sharing memes and expressing excitement about being part of an ad-free space without hate speech.
Many have even commented that it feels reminiscent of Twitter’s early days over ten years ago! However, despite Bluesky’s impressive growth, X claimed after the election that it had maintained a stronghold on global discussions regarding the U.S. election and even set new records during this period.
Looking past just social media connections.
Bluesky isn’t just looking to take over X; it has much grander plans in mind. They’re not only focused on their own platform but are also creating what they call a protocol for public conversation.
This would allow social networks to communicate with each other, similar to how email or phone numbers work—basically, making everything more interconnected.
Right now, if you want to comment on someone’s post, you have to stick to the same platform. So, Twitter users can only interact on Twitter and TikTok users are confined to TikTok.
Big Tech has built these barriers around their platforms mainly to support their advertising models. But Bluesky is aiming to change that and push for a more connected experience across different services.