The decentralized Twitter rival, Bluesky, is making moves as it gets ready to launch its underlying protocol, the AT Protocol, and opens to the public. Bluesky is removing its invite-only sign-up process and allowing anyone to sign up, having amassed over two million users during its closed beta phase. Additionally, the platform plans to enable outside developers to host their own servers on the AT Protocol later this month, providing users with more options and flexibility. This is what makes Bluesky different from its competitors: its decentralized infrastructure, which Jack Dorsey paid for.
The platform's commitment to user experience, coupled with technical advancements like open federation and customizable content moderation services, aims to provide a seamless and safe social media environment. However, challenges persist, particularly regarding the potential for abuse or harmful content on decentralized platforms. Bluesky's approach to moderation involves a balance between user empowerment and intervention by the platform itself, with a focus on minimizing harm while maintaining user autonomy. Despite uncertainties in its development, Bluesky's emergence as a separate entity from Twitter positions it as a contender among social media platforms. Bluesky’s key features include:
Bluesky, operating as a public benefit corporation, has just under 40 full-time employees, with a significant focus on moderation and user support. The platform boasts 3 million monthly users and 25,000 custom feeds, showcasing the diversity and quirkiness inherent to Bluesky's approach. As Bluesky prepares to roll out the AT Protocol for third-party developers, Graber highlights plans for monetization through additional features, custom feeds, and enterprise services. However, it was also acknowledged that there is a need to eventually transition control of the AT Protocol to a web standards body to ensure long-term sustainability.
While Bluesky's focus is not currently on interoperating with ActivityPub (an open, decentralized protocol designed for federated social networking), Graber recognizes the importance of experimentation in the evolving landscape of social networking. Despite ActivityPub's current prominence, Bluesky sees potential for another take on decentralized social networking and remains open to future possibilities. With 3 million users already on board, Bluesky aims to offer a decentralized alternative to traditional social media platforms like Twitter and Meta's Threads.
Graber explains that the delay in opening up Bluesky to everyone was primarily to ensure the platform's underlying infrastructure and moderation capabilities were robust enough to provide a good user experience. The upcoming features, such as Federation and third-party moderation services, required time to develop properly. Regarding concerns about losing momentum during the transition period, Graber emphasizes Bluesky's focus on building resilient infrastructure for the long term. The platform aims to avoid the pitfalls of centralized platforms by providing decentralized alternatives, ensuring that users have more control over their social media experience.
Bluesky's grand opening to the public was met with significant fanfare and excitement, despite encountering some initial hiccups. Transitioning from its exclusive invite-only beta phase, Bluesky saw an influx of nearly 800,000 new users within its first day, marking a substantial leap in its user base. The platform's total signups are expected to surpass the 4 million milestone, a testament to the enduring curiosity surrounding this decentralized, open-source social app.
While Bluesky may still trail behind other platforms in terms of user count, its rapid growth trajectory mirrors that of its competitor, showcasing immense potential for expansion.
Disclosure: This list is intended as an informational resource and is based on independent research and publicly available information. It does not imply that these businesses are the absolute best in their category. Learn more here.
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