A new social media app gained 1.5 million users since Election Day. Why Bluesky is the new X
Since the Nov. 5 presidential election, a Twitter-like app named Bluesky has gained 1.5 million new users in one week.
Elon Musk was very open about his Republican-leaning views on his social media app, X. However, those who do not want to hear Musk’s support have decided to take their posts elsewhere.
But this isn’t the only reason people are joining Bluesky.
The New York Times reported earlier this year that racist and homophobic slurs in tweets have doubled since the billionaire bought the platform in 2022. Data from Similarweb says that X has now seen the largest number of account deactivations since Musk took over the company. Because of this, other apps like Bluesky have benefited.
So what is this new app? And is it really any better than X?
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky was created in 2019 by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey as a project. The app opened to the public in 2023 and now has a confirmed 16 million users, according to Tech Crunch. While there is a rapid spike in growth for Bluesky, X still serves a hefty platform of 250 million users.
The app differentiates itself from X because “Bluesky now operates as a “decentralized” social media platform, which means users can create their own servers on which they can store data and set their own rules, instead of using servers owned by the company,” according to a Forbes report.
These platforms both work very similarly, so users who do switch to Bluesky will be entering familiar territory. The new app operates by posting images, videos and text as well as reposting and replying to posts.
One of Bluesky’s biggest advantages is arguably its block feature, where users can block one another, removing that person from the other’s feed. X does not have this feature due to Musk’s new change to the terms of service.
“Our online experience doesn’t have to depend on billionaires unilaterally making decisions over what we see. On an open social network like Bluesky, you can shape your experience for yourself,” Bluesky says on its website.
The new app also has a team that monitors the feed to ensure the community guidelines are implemented. For example, “hate or extremist conduct” is forbidden, unlike X, where a spike of slurs has flooded the feed since Musk took over.
How to use Bluesky
If you are interested in using Bluesky, you can sign up online or by downloading the app.
To sign up, you will have to provide your name, email, and some other basic information. You will also have to create a unique username and password. Once an account is created, users can interact with one another through posts.
Posts may contain images, videos, text, or even gifs. Other users can like, comment, repost, and reply.
Blueksy offers a variety of “feeds” for users to choose from. Users can also create their own feeds based on a topic they enjoy. For example, if someone loves cooking, they can create a feed of food and recipes to endlessly scroll through. They also offer a discovery feed where you can find random topics and miscellaneous posts.
Finally, users also have the ability to follow one another or block one another. You can choose to be a private account, in which users will have to request to follow you, or a public account.