Bluesky, the social media platform co-founded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, has officially opened its doors to the public.
Previously access to Bluesky was restricted to an invitation-only basis, a strategy employed by the platform to develop its moderation tools and additional functionalities. This move to broaden access signifies Bluesky’s readiness to welcome a wider audience and compete in the social networking space.
Bluesky looks and feels a lot like Twitter. It has a similar user experience with a few distinctions — like a lack of a direct messaging feature. But it compensates with enhanced customization options.
‘When you log in to Bluesky, it might look and feel familiar — the user experience should be straightforward,” they wrote in the announcement. “But under the hood, we’ve designed the app in a way that puts control back in your hands. Here, your experience online isn’t controlled by a single company. Whether it’s your timeline or content filters, on Bluesky, you can easily customize your social experience.”
Related: Bluesky Secures $8 Million Seed Round, Introduces Paid Service
Its core feature includes a linear timeline of posts from followed accounts, with the possibility for users to switch to algorithm-driven timelines designed by others. Although it is primarily moderated by the platform itself, Bluesky has announced plans to introduce user-curated moderation schemes, broadening its approach to content management.
A unique ambition of Bluesky is to enable users to transport their social media data, including friends and followers, to other networks, aiming to position itself as the ultimate social media account. This concept, known as “federation,” involves technical challenges and various implementation methods across platforms.
Unlike others that use the ActivityPub algorithm for interoperability, such as Mastodon and Meta’s Threads, Bluesky has chosen the Authenticated Transfer Protocol for this purpose. This decision sets it apart in the landscape of federated social networks, offering a distinct path toward data portability and user freedom.
This reflects a growing trend in social media towards interoperability and user-centric data management. As platforms like Threads begin to explore these capabilities, the social media ecosystem may be on the cusp of a significant transformation, one that prioritizes user choice and content accessibility across different networks.
However, while the platform boasts more 3,000,000 users, some are saying it might be too late in the game for Bluesky to open to the public. It’s been months since the launch of Threads and months more since people wanted to leave X en masse.
Information for this story was found via Bluesky, Time, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
