Bluesky Explained: Why This Social Media Service Is Growing By 1 Million Users A Day

Social media platform Bluesky has been growing at a rapid pace since the conclusion of the US presidential election. A representative for the company said in an email Monday that the site now has more than 19 million users, and has added more than 1 million users a day in the past few days, an increase of more than 5.5 million users since the Nov. 5 election.

Bluesky is currently No. 1 in the free app segment of the US iPhone App Store, beating popular social network Threads and AI assistant ChatGPT. That’s quite a jump from October, when it was No. 181, according to TechCrunch, citing statistics from app intelligence firm Appfigures.

A site growth of 1 million users per day equals 12 new users per second. The 19 million user mark compared to 9 million users in September.

Although there is no way to determine how many new users are left due to X Elon Musk’s public support for President-elect Donald Trump, many Bluesky users refer to the election in their first posts. Wired reports that many fans of Taylor Swift, the group that once had the most presence in X, are switching to Bluesky.

Bluesky is a social media platform that shares many similarities with X, formerly known as Twitter. UX underwent many changes after billionaire Musk bought the site and retired blue checkmarks that indicate verified accounts, reinstated previously banned accounts and started a new registration system.

On October 16, X announced that it was changing its blocking function, which allows people to block others from seeing their messages on the site. Banned accounts can now see that person’s posts on X if the post is set to public, though they can’t reply, like or retweet it. “That doesn’t stop,” replied one X user. “That supports the search.”

The next day, on October 17, Bluesky shared a post announcing that it had received 500,000 people in just one day. “First day here,” one Bluesky user wrote in response to the company’s post about its growth. “Just getting my feet wet. I’ve been using Twitter for a long time but it’s a shell of who I was.”

IX also revised its terms of service so that any lawsuits brought by users against the service must be handled by a federal court in north Texas “whose judges often deliver victories for politically conservative plaintiffs,” the Globe and Mail reported.

These latest changes are likely to spark increased interest in Bluesky, which saw a surge in user accounts earlier this year when X was blocked by Brazilian courts (the block was later lifted when X paid a fine). According to The New York Times, users say Bluesky is the app that comes closest to simulating X.

Here’s what you need to know about Bluesky.

How do I register?

Initially, Bluesky was invite-only, but it has been open to all since February. To join, just go to the main page to create an account. You can download the Bluesky app for iOS or Android, or use Bluesky on your desktop.

It will ask for your email address and phone number (to send a verification code) and prompt you to choose a username and password. Then you’re logged in.

How does Bluesky compare to X and Threads?

If you’re familiar with X, Bluesky’s design and purpose should make sense to you.

The site uses vertical scrolling messages with small round photo avatars of users and icons below the messages that show how many comments, likes and reposts they’ve received. It looks very similar to X’s format and Meta’s Threads, which is the current No. 2 for free on the App Store, behind Bluesky.

Who is behind you?

Here’s another Twitter/X connection: Twitter founder Jack Dorsey used to be on the board of directors, and the Bluesky project started in 2019 when he was CEO of Twitter. Jay Graber is the CEO of Bluesky.

Even Bluesky’s name is related to X’s previous name. Dorsey confirmed user Bluesky’s speculation that the name is linked to Twitter’s bird mascot, the idea being that the bird can fly more freely in the open blue sky. Dorsey left the board in May, apparently because the service added rating tools.

Although the name of the site does not have the capital S in “sky,” it is called “blue sky.” Do not rhyme with “brewski.”

The app is built on something called the authenticated transport protocol, or AT, a social media framework created by the company and made up of a network of many different sites.

And how is Bluesky different?

Domains as handles

First, you can set your domain as your handle, if you like. This would help with verification, which became a hot issue on Twitter when Musk started issuing blue checkmarks to verified accounts that refused to pay monthly fees.

“For example, a newsroom like NPR might set its handle to @npr.org,” the company’s Bluesky Social blog notes. “Then, any reporters NPR wants to verify can use subdomains to set their handle to @name.npr.org. Brand accounts can set their handle to their domain as well.”

Balance

The balance is also different. Another blog post states that Bluesky already uses automatic moderation, and is working on a social labeling system, described as “something like a shared silent/block list.”

Users of many social networks are shown posts from feeds selected for them by an algorithm, or you can influence that by following or blocking certain accounts. But Bluesky wants to give you a choice of different algorithms to decide what you see.

You can mute accounts, which prevents you from seeing any notifications or top posts from them, or you can block accounts, which takes that a step further, meaning you and the other account both can’t see or interact with each other’s posts. You can also report posts or accounts for abuse. The blocking option may be of particular interest to users who were unhappy with X’s proposed change to its blocking behavior.

Several features — being able to hide replies to your posts and remove your posts from other users’ posts that quote yours — are designed to stop spam and other toxic behavior.

To keep in touch

It’s possible that creators who get a following on Bluesky may one day be able to keep in touch with their followers, even if the service itself changes.

If you want to follow people you followed on X, the third-party Sky Follower Bridge is a free tool that scans your follower list and follows accounts with similar names on Bluesky. You will get a few fake points and a lot of inactive Bluesky accounts, but overall it works very well.

Custom feed

Algorithms are the rules that determine how content is sorted and recommended to users. Bluesky has something called a custom feed, which lets you choose an algorithm that determines what you see.

“Imagine if you want your timeline to contain only posts that you agree with, or only posts with pictures of cats, or only posts related to sports — you can simply choose your favorite feed from an open marketplace,” a blog post on the site says. he says. A longer post goes into more detail about custom feeds and algorithmic selection. Click the hashtag icon at the bottom of the app to add and receive new feeds.

Developers can use the site’s starter generator kit to create custom feeds, and the site promises that eventually, the tools will be simple enough that we can all create custom feeds.

Updates

Onion CEO Ben Collins tweeted in April 2023, while still a tech reporter for NBC, that Bluesky “works and looks and feels like (Twitter),” and praised the “balance, desktop experience and reliability” of the site.

As of Nov. 18, the site has an average of 4.2 out of 5 stars in the Apple App Store. “It feels like the early days of Twitter, but it’s natural,” wrote one reviewer.

Who uses it?

Here’s a small list of some of the people and groups you’ll see posted on Bluesky.