By now, you’ve likely heard about Bluesky, the X (formerly Twitter) rival. I’m not usually one to jump on the latest social media trends, but I’m moving to Bluesky and can honestly say the grass is greener so far.
Built By Twitter’s Former CEO
Out of all the social networks I’ve tried, I always loved how Twitter worked. It was well-designed for quick posts, organized lists, and quick private messages to friends and followers. While Elon Musk has kept the same design, it’s just not the same.
Luckily, Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, built Bluesky to look and function almost identically to the old-school Twitter I knew and loved. Unlike some of the other X alternatives, like Mastodon and Threads, there isn’t any real learning curve. If you use Twitter, you know how to use Bluesky.
Bluesky Seems Friendlier and Better Moderated
I loved Twitter in the pre-Musk days. Sure, it had issues like every social network does, but hate speech, fake news, and rampant harassment were typically shut down pretty quick. While I believe in the freedom of speech, it’s nice to find a place where much of the nastiness isn’t tolerated.
For example, I saw where one user commented a pretty vile thing about Kamala Harris before the election. On X, the comment would’ve been celebrated. On Bluesky, the commenter was shut down by numerous responses that explained how inappropriate the comment was. The responses came from both Harris and Trump supporters, which was nice to see.
I tried to check the commenter’s profile a few days after the incident, but it had been deleted. Much like Redditors push out users who can’t behave, Bluesky users don’t seem to tolerate the same level of hate as X. Overall, conversations seems far more civil, even if users disagree. Sure, this could change as the network grows, but I sincerely hope not.
I Get Relevant Recommendations
Am I the only one who gets completely irrelevant recommendations in their For You feed on X? In the past year, it’s gotten worse and worse. For example, I tend to follow weather, cute animals, and tech news on X. My recommendations are all about national news, politics, sports, and hold-my-beer type clips.
I can’t figure out why. It makes absolutely zero sense and doesn’t help me find new accounts to follow. To me, that seems to hurt growth rather than help it. (And X could use some growth after more than 700,000 users migrated from X to Bluesky after the 2024 election.)
Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I checked out Bluesky and found highly relevant recommendations in the Discover feed that are helping me find more and more accounts/users to follow. It’s nice to see my interests versus random content I have no interest in.
It’s Ad-Free and That’s Enough For Me
I see more ads on X than posts. Even if you pay to use the network, you still get ads in two out of three premium plans, so what’s the point? Instead of following Musk’s greedy example, Bluesky has chosen to stay ad-free – at least for now. The network has raised millions through multiple rounds of funding.
The network is also developing a subscription option to hopefully eliminate the need for ads. However, the premium option will focus more on additional features, such as more customization options, versus boosting visibility.
The Decentralized Model Gives Users Freedom
Bluesky was built on the decentralized AT protocol (a competing ActivityPub protocol), meaning users are free to create other communities within the same open source network. The network just opened up early access federation in February 2024, allowing users to create their own self-hosted instances and port all account details and follower lists from Bluesky. Currently, it’s one-way only.
It’s nice to see your data is yours and that you’re free to move when you want. Unlike X, that is using user data to train AI.
Find New Accounts With Starter Packs
When I signed up for Twitter years ago, I had the option to follow some of the more popular accounts to get started. With Bluesky, things work slightly differently. Instead, I could choose a Starter Pack. There’s also a Feeds section to find new things to follow.
Starter Packs are curated lists of similar accounts. Anyone can create their own and share it with other users. If you do create one, it’s listed on your profile. I’ve seen Starter Packs for journalists, tech, news, gaming, influencers, the environment, and much more.
Still Growing and Has a Few Shortcomings
As much as I love moving to Bluesky, I have to admit it’s still a growing network. I joined just before the platform opened to the public, so I saw the user boom, which made it far easier to find more people to interact with. In February 2024, the network had just around three million users. At the time of writing, there are over 21 million users, and thanks to a real-time counter, I can check the growth at any time.
While it’s not an issue for me, I know many users prefer to keep their social media profiles private and only share content with their followers. So far, Bluesky doesn’t offer this. While X does, Musk is still using your data however he wants, so it’s not necessarily private there either.
As a final issue, many X users are terrified of moving and losing their large followings. I’m still having trouble finding some of my favorite accounts on Bluesky. In the last few months, I have noticed an increase in users posting on both networks as they build their followers on Bluesky.
Should You Move to Bluesky?
If nothing else, the logo is a cute butterfly versus the letter X, which seems far more welcoming. That seems worth moving for, right?
If you want a Twitter alternative or X alternative that’s familiar and easy to get started with, Bluesky is the best option, in my opinion. You don’t have to delete your X account to try it, though, you can if you want. I still have both, but I spend the majority of my time on Bluesky versus X now.
Image credit: Unsplash
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