Can Bluesky Social Last?

 

Despite its lack of name recognition, Bluesky Social has become one of the most popular social media apps since Twitter’s demise. With a small but selective user base so far, many people say they’ve found friendly vibes and good community on the platform that feels like an inner-circle group chat. It’s also been praised as a haven for marginalised groups, including transgender people, who may feel safer expressing themselves on it than on Twitter or other big social networks. But can it last?

The app is a decentralized social media network that’s been designed to be censorship-resistant. Its users can choose to join one of several servers that run the Bluesky software, and each server has its own rules about what content is allowed to be posted. This enables the platform to avoid being taken down by a single server owner or getting overwhelmed by users who post illegal content. It’s also possible for Bluesky to give users the ability to transfer their data and follower count to other apps, which could lead to an explosion of new communities on the platform.

But for the time being, Bluesky is focusing Twitter alternative on moderation and building up its user base. As a result, it feels a bit more eerily similar to late 2000s Twitter than its more sophisticated successors. It’s got its own limited, early array of celebrities, from director Edgar Wright to US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And, in a sign of how open the system is to new voices, many famous people are following and replying to regular people on Bluesky.

This does make it a magnet for some shitposters, and it’s been challenging for Bluesky to keep up with the speed at which posts are made. In an attempt to keep things clean, CEO Jay Graber has banned shitposting entirely for now, and has promised more tools to tackle the problem in future. Not everyone is happy about this: conservative commentator David Frum complained that he wanted to meet “smart/interesting/amusing” people on the platform, not a bunch of “weirdos” and psychopaths.

To help address these concerns, Bluesky is working on ways to improve its algorithm and filtering tools. In the future, it hopes to allow users to create and customize feeds based on their specific interests. For example, you could create a feed for sports, news, or cat memes. It’s also working on ways to let users block other users and prevent them from being able to see their posts.

But despite its attempts to solve these issues, Bluesky still feels a little bit like a beta test. It takes a while to set up an account, and some users have experienced difficulty figuring out how to use the app. And, as with all social media apps, it’s been challenging for Bluesky to strike the right balance between curbing trolls and maintaining engaging conversations. So, despite the positive coverage and good vibes, it’s too soon to tell if Bluesky will be the next big thing or just another short-lived social media experiment.