The social network Bluesky, or Bluesky Social, has gained popularity as one of the main alternatives to X. It was created by Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter. It is positioned alongside other options such as Threads or Mastodon, but with a design thought to make the transition from X much less "traumatic".
Bluesky stands out with experience without advertising, offering a clean and pleasant environment. However, one of the drawbacks remains that many people you follow have not yet migrated to this platform. On the other hand, the good news is that it is completely free and you can find my account at this address @byothe.bsky.social.
What is Bluesky?
This is probably the first question you ask yourself before taking the plunge. Bluesky is a free microblogging social platform, without any big companies behind it.
From your first steps on Bluesky, you will notice that the interface is quite similar to that of X (Twitter), thus facilitating migration. This resemblance is not a coincidence: the Bluesky project was initially conceived within Twitter with the idea of creating a decentralized experience, a project that was ultimately abandoned. The fact that its creator is one of the co-founders of Twitter also explains this familiarity.
Bluesky's goal is to differentiate itself through its own protocol to become a decentralized platform.
This protocol, called Authenticated Transfer (AT) Protocol, allows any user to join Bluesky from their own server. This is reminiscent of how Mastodon works. Each server offers unique customization of the user experience, including which news feed is displayed or which posts you prefer not to see.
How servers work in Bluesky
Decentralization: Unlike centralized social networks, where a single entity controls all data and interactions, Bluesky allows each user or community to manage their own server. This means that data is not stored on a single server, reducing the risks of censorship or global outages.
Interoperability: Different servers can interact with each other using the AT protocol. Thus, a user on one server can follow, comment on or share the content of a user on another server, creating an interconnected network while maintaining independent management.
Personalization and moderation: Each server can define its own moderation rules, privacy policies, and specific features. This allows communities to create environments that fit their needs and values, while maintaining consistency with the rest of the network.
What does Bluesky offer today?
Bluesky focuses on simplicity and avoids adding unnecessary features. You can, like on X, publish messages accompanied by photos or links, while choosing who can interact with your posts. Messages are limited to 300 characters which avoids lengths.
Visitors to your profile can react to your posts with “Likes”, quotes or replies. You can also follow other accounts to interact with their content and gradually create a personalized news feed.
The thread is mainly based on a simple timeline, without algorithm to select content. When registering, many users publish a list of their interests in order to be followed by people who share the same tastes.
Bluesky still lacks some features. For example, it is not yet possible to publish videos. But maybe it will be possible soon.
To communicate with the community, you can use a messaging system simply called "Discussions". Bluesky also offers thematic feeds where you can group relevant accounts on specific subjects such as art, video games, science or technology. These feeds allow you to display only the content that really interests you.
In the Main feed, you will find multiple tabs by default: your subscribers' posts, a section Discover to explore new content, and a tab PopuarWithFriends to see what's buzzing from your friends. These tabs are fully customizable from your feed settings.
Registration is open to all
When Bluesky was launched, it was not possible to register freely. You had to have a invitation, usually provided by another user or obtained after registering on a waiting list. Now, registration is open to everyone, allowing the network to experience rapid growth in its user base.
If you are curious or interested, go to bsky.app to register with your basic information. In addition to the web version, Bluesky offers applications for iOS et Android, so you can access the platform regardless of your device.
Finally, to facilitate your transition, tools like Sky Follower Bridge on the Chrome Web Store exist. These extensions allow you to easily migrate your contacts, subscribers or blocked accounts from other platforms, simplifying your arrival on Bluesky.
