Bluesky becomes a refuge for exiles from X, the social network formerly known as Twittera platform that has not only changed its name but, in many ways, has only gotten worse. Bots, hate speech without apparent control and zero reach of publications made Elon Musk’s social network say goodbye.
The migration of X/Twitter users to other platforms is not something new, for months we have been reading many users of the social network announcing their departure to other frontiers, Mastodon, Threads and Bluesky being the alternatives the most chosen. However, in recent days the migration has been massive, according to data revealed by Bluesky: up to a million people joined this social network in one day, managing to become the most downloaded application of the moment.
The appeal of Bluesky as an alternative to X is undeniable, and I personally have good reason to choose this app as my new favorite social network.
Bluesky reminds us of the best Twitter, the one before 2020
Musk bought Twitter (now X) in 2022, and since then the platform has gone downhill. The businessman promised to eliminate bots from the social network, and currently it is impossible to find a tweet or publication with a lot of visibility that is not. lots of robots in the answers
It’s worth mentioning that X/Twitter went downhill after Musk’s purchase, yes, but there were problems before too, in fact in many cases These were the same problems, but on a smaller scale.. Therefore, some users have chosen to explore other frontiers, social networks that serve as an alternative or replacement to Twitter, but after more than a decade as users it is difficult to leave them.
However, in recent weeks, a very striking phenomenon has occurred: hundreds of thousands of people are signing up for Bluesky every day. The main reasons for this mass migration appear to be changes in X’s politics and the recent presidential elections in the United States. Bluesky announced that a million new accounts are registered every day on the platform, and although this migration began in the United States, it has already reached other borders. In Europe the application has managed to become the most downloaded.
Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky. Click on the image to access the publication.
What does Bluesky have that X doesn’t? For me, the answer is clear: the overall experience is more satisfying. Bluesky is an application that resembles the Twitter of yesteryear, in those better times when the microblogging social network really felt like a place where we could all chat, where we found our niche. But today, X is a place where only a few own the megaphone, provided they pay for it.
It’s not just the fact that toxicity predominates on X, another of the big problems of this platform is that if you don’t pay for the subscription to . Writing in X without paying the subscription is like speaking into a void
Bluesky on mobile and computer: simple and clean interface similar to the Twitter of yesteryear.
Bluesky has already announced that at some point they will offer a subscription, but this will not affect the reach of posts, it will only add more customization options and advanced tools. Another difference is that X can use our stations to train its artificial intelligence, Grok, while Bluesky promised he wouldn’t do the same.
Bluesky offers an experience similar to the Twitter of yesteryear, but improved, which could become the definitive alternative to X. The key is whether it manages to maintain user interest and participation.
The experience is simpler in Bluesky and it is more enjoyable. The platform even offers more tools to control who can see your publications, with the intention that users can have a better control of our online privacy and security. Additionally, while in X and Threads the recommendation algorithm is a central pillar of the content we see, Bluesky feels more organic and prioritizes the accounts we follow.
In addition, “Feeds”, thematic lists created by users, are a very interesting tool for finding users and publications sharing the same interest. I prefer them over regular lists because they not only include accounts, but also related messages.
The biggest challenge now will be that after radical growth in its user base, bots and calls the trolls They will start flooding the platform. The moderation team already receives thousands of reports per day related to malicious activity and spam, so they must take action to resolve them.
The migration from X to Bluesky, in figures
Bluesky had around 15 million users before the US presidential election day, but since then the platform has continued to grow. The social network managed to add up to a million accounts in one daywith around 10,000 new users every 15 minutes last weekend. Currently, Bluesky has around 19 million registered users.
On the other hand, the Similarweb analysis platform assures that many X users have not only migrated to other platforms, but that around 115,000 users deleted their accounts on Musk’s social network the day after the elections. UNITED STATES. However, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, assured that the social network has more users than ever.
In reality, this migration to Bluesky or any other platform will not make much difference if these new users do not become active users of the platform. Personally, the changes in
Bluesky can not only replace X, but also be a place where we once again share ideas and participate in conversations with real humans, with our niches and our groups with the same interests, like in the good old days of Twitter.
May the days of #FollowFriday return.
Cover photo | Xataka Android + Shutterstock
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