Steven Franklin’s Post

Bluesky Social, a decentralized social media platform co-founded by Jack Dorsey, is seeing a surge in users as dissatisfaction with Elon Musk’s changes to X continues to grow, especially after Musk’s appointment to a government role under the Trump administration. Bluesky offers familiar features like posts, likes, and DMs, while maintaining strict moderation and user-controlled servers—a stark contrast to X’s current state. With notable figures and organizations like The Guardian migrating, Bluesky positions itself as a haven for users seeking control and community in the social media landscape 🦋 #bluesky #socialmedia #techtrends

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 7 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 (9) 🧐Over 1 million users joined Bluesky since the US election, mirroring a similar trend after X's suspension in Brazil and its recent policy change regarding blocked users. As concerns about misinformation, extremism, and hate speech on Elon Musk’s platform grow, many users are turning to Bluesky as a potential alternative. 🌠 Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform that started as a Twitter project and became an independent company in 2021, has seen a surge in new users, particularly following significant events on X. It has currently 15 million users, up from 9 million in September, and it allows much more control over your feed. 🎊 #bluesky #x #socialmedia #elonmusk

The great "X-odus" is here. More than 1 million users have joined Bluesky since the US election, leaving Elon Musk’s X amid concerns over misinformation and rising toxicity. Even Taylor Swift’s fans, the Swifties, are finding a new platform to call home. So, what’s making Bluesky the new go-to for social media? 1️⃣ Custom Feeds – You choose what you see. News, cat photos, or Swiftie fan theories—your feed, your rules. 2️⃣ Anti-Troll Features – Detach your posts from unwanted interactions and keep the negativity at bay. 3️⃣ Decentralized & Moderated – Bluesky is built for a safer, smarter social experience. Is this the future of social media? Or are we too tired for one more platform? Would you make the switch to Bluesky?

I'll highlight that BlueSky has no algorithmic "unseen hand" that makes it or more (or less) political, or more (or less) clickbaity, or more (or less) appropriate for a given community. What it does offer is vastly more user control. Each user gets to manage their feed and their followers however they like. And because it is an open platform, good management ideas can spread quickly: anyone can create and share custom feeds, "starter packs" (lists of people to follow), block lists (turning the table on the bots/trolls), etc. If you're already poking around there, ping me at: https://lnkd.in/eiH4gxHz

As with anything that is gaining traction, there are negative rumors wafting about BlueSky. But, as someone who has been around for this entire social media journey, I love that it reminds me of where we began. And, since you can design your own algorithm, you can really set the tone for useful engagement. Also worth noting that nothing beats signing up directly at the source for news. This Fast Company article dives a little deeper: https://lnkd.in/enM4Az4M 

I found this article interesting, not only because I work in the industry, but mainly because I am a consumer of these algorithms. I believe it is becoming increasingly more important for us to think about how and why information is being fed to us, and to be cognizant of our utilisation of these amazing tools. “Five companies are building tools that we will all become entirely dependent upon,” Dorsey said. “And because they’re so complicated, we have no idea how to verify the correctness, we have no idea how to verify how they work, [or] what they’re actually doing,” #ai #ethicalai

Elon replaced “Twitter” with “X”, but everyone started replacing “X” with “Bluesky”. In the world of social media, we’re seeing a plot twist - people moving to Bluesky. Why? Because who wouldn’t want to live in a place where algorithms aren’t trying to predict your every thought and ad-free feeds are still a thing? Demystifying Bluesky: - Decentralization: Think of it as social media without the corporate landlord - Ad-Free: It’s a place where you can scroll without being reminded about something - just after you spoke to your friend about ’something’ - Control: You get to choose your algorithm. Because we all like a little autonomy, right? For those who miss the “good old days” of social media, Bluesky feels like a fresh start - remember Orkut? For the rest of us, it’s a reminder that the grass is sometimes greener in a different digital world. I signedup with Bluesky! You dont want to be a lazy bird- https://bsky.app #bluesky #x #twitter #elonmusk #decentralization #socialmedia

What To Know About Bluesky—The Buzzy Social Media App Siphoning Users From Elon Musk’s X Bluesky Social, a text-based social media platform that is functionally similar to (and even shares the same co-founder as) X, formerly known as #Twitter, is spiking in usership as X users flee the Elon Musk-owned platform after former President Donald Trump won the election and recruited Musk to lead a government efficiency department. 🔵Bluesky was conceived of as a research project to “decentralize” Twitter by its then-CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019, eventually launching as its own company in 2021 and opening to the public in a beta stage in 2023. ⚪️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. 🔴Many of the functions on Bluesky are similar to those on X, including the ability to make text-based posts with a 256-character limit (known as “#skeets”) that can also include images and videos, re-post and like other posts and reply to other users. 🔵Users can follow other individuals to curate their own timeline and send users direct messages, much like on X. Bluesky users can also block one another, an attractive feature for users who have criticized Musk’s changes to the X block feature, which now makes an X user’s post visible to all others, including those they have blocked. ⚪️Bluesky has a moderation team to enforce community guidelines—which forbid promoting “hate or extremist conduct,” a common criticism of X under Musk—and lets users use a collaborative moderation tool called #Ozone to moderate communities on the platform.

Is it soon to say the sky's the limit? X may finally be wearing out its welcome. Bluesky is turning into a viable, and at least for now, a friendly alternative to X. Adding 1 million users a day for the past two weeks is nothing to sneeze at. And, while much of it is being attributed to an anti-Elon Musk movement, the reality is that Bluesky just has a different and more welcoming vibe. It's the essential dumpster fire. We can debate the shortcomings of X, but the iconic platform that so early on became a significant part of our cultural consciousness is gradually not. Tweet feeds are full of political rhetoric, misinformation and questionable content. In the general sense, any relevance to individual users has fallen into the abyss of irrelevance. Blame it on Elon. Blame it on the lack of content moderation. Whatever it is, more people aren't finding any value in staying or using the platform. Bluesky's growth which has now brought it to more than 20 million users is notable for its momentum this past month. Whether it can keep that up remains to be seen. But that fact that journalists, media outlets and even scientists are flocking to Bluesky says a lot. But, there's more than the company's emergence as a viable alternative to X. Bluesky's pipes are sustained by an open architecture that's appealing to techies. The fact that it has a basic and rather simple UI also makes it accessible to non-techies and techies alike. All of this, of course, likely has investors salivating at investing. Given the company just took in a $15 million round, the valuation has probably gone up. While the company will have some important decisions to make about taking on additional investment, the company will need to more of it to innovate https://lnkd.in/gHSFpYMD #bluesky #socialmedia #content #investment #technology #culture #lifestyle

Have you noticed the growing buzz around Bluesky Social? 🦋 Since the election, many former X/Twitter users have been moving to this new platform—including big names like Target and UnitedHealth Group. It’s a good reminder to stay ahead of emerging trends. At a minimum, securing your social handle on Bluesky is a smart move for your brand to stay prepared. Curious about why so many are making the switch? Here’s a helpful overview: https://lnkd.in/gX-JdSdj #Bluesky #SocialMediaStrategy #SocialMediaMarketing