Bluesky adds 700,000 new users in a week

[retrofade]

Bluesky gained more than 700,000 new users in the last week and now has more than 14.5 million users total, Bluesky COO Rose Wang confirmed to The Verge. The “majority” of the new users on the decentralized social network are from the US, Wang says. The app is currently the number two free social networking app in the US App Store, only trailing Meta’s Threads.

People posting on Threads, on the other hand, have raised complaints about engagement bait, moderation issues, and, as of late, misinformation, reports Taylor Lorenz. And like our very own Tom Warren, I’ve come to dislike the algorithmic “For You” feed that you can’t permanently escape, and it certainly seems like we’re not alone in that opinion.

But the Instagram-bootstrapped Threads, which recently crossed 275 million monthly users, is still significantly larger than Bluesky.

The independent platform has seen a lot of growth in recent weeks — on October 24th, Bluesky announced it had 13 million users. After X’s recent announcement that it would let blocked users still see posts from the person that blocked them, for example, Bluesky said it added 500,000 new users in one day.

The results of the US presidential election could be part of Bluesky’s new influx of users. People may be looking to use a platform that’s not owned by Musk or, like some Taylor Swift fans, may be looking for a new platform following an increase in hate speech on X.

Bluesky is also becoming an increasingly better app, with recently added features like pinned posts, support for posting videos, and the ability to send DMs to bring it up to what you might expect from X. It also allows users to custom create and select feeds to follow, and allows for building starter packs to quickly find posters who you may be already familiar with.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/11/24293920/bluesky-700000-new-users-week-x-threads

[Hashbrowns]

I don’t like it. Seems like a left-leaning version of twitter.

I’m more in favor of mastodon, which to me feels more like the nostalgic golden era of the internet in the 90s/00s. More like a message board, less like a curated brain-rot algorithm.

[happycamper]

On 11/11/2024 at 11:30 PM, Hashbrowns said:

I don’t like it. Seems like a left-leaning version of twitter.

I’m more in favor of mastodon, which to me feels more like the nostalgic golden era of the internet in the 90s/00s. More like a message board, less like a curated brain-rot algorithm.

I was in a Harry Potter facebook group for a while. It was a huge group, tens of thousands of people in it and was a lot of fun. Based on the Ringer Harry Potter podcast, which if you like Harry Potter is a great way to sink work time into. 

A few "scandals" happened. Some people made off-color jokes, the Ringer had an intern with no idea what they were doing screw up about 8 decisions in a row, and the group split. The more progressive people made their own group and so the former community was filtered politically.

I ended up leaving both. The new group was... just not fun. Sanctimonious as hell, purity tests, no sense of humor, prioritizing saying the right things over actually having a good time. But the old one ended up being a lot worse too. Sexism, gross jokes, people reveling in other's misery. 

The whole Twitter/ blueskee thing feels the same. Twitter before Elon wasn't great but it's a lot better than either new hitler twitter or double echo chamber blueskee.

[retrofade]

On 11/11/2024 at 8:30 PM, Hashbrowns said:

I don’t like it. Seems like a left-leaning version of twitter.

I’m more in favor of mastodon, which to me feels more like the nostalgic golden era of the internet in the 90s/00s. More like a message board, less like a curated brain-rot algorithm.

To be honest, I haven't had that experience at all. I've found it easier to view the things I want to view than TwiX, Threads, or even Mastodon. I think you may see an echo chamber of sorts because it's easy to block out what you don't want to see or interact with. However, it will definitely experience some growing pains now that many people are switching over. We'll see how it manages that. 

I'm finding it easier to connect with people whose views I want to see for thing I'm interested in, like the tech world and the gaming communites I'm part of.  That said, I haven't delved into the political side of it at all, so my viewpoint may be skewed. 

[AztecAlien]

So we have another social media echo chamber that people are flocking to in order improve humanity. 👍 

Jack Dorsey doesn't seem impressed after being involved in creating Bluesky. 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/07/jack-dorsey-quits-bluesky-board-urges-users-stay-elon-musk-x-twitter

https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/05/06/jack-dorsey-leaves-bluesky-board-calls-musks-x-a-freedom-platform

 

 

[son of a gun]

I've heard a lot of people go over due to the ever increasing amounts of bots on X, or at least making an account over there as a backup. And this is from people with substantial amounts of people. Not huge, but not small either.

[Hashbrowns]

On 11/12/2024 at 8:57 AM, AztecAlien said:

Jack Dorsey doesn't seem impressed after being involved in creating Bluesky. 

Facebook (Zuck), Twitter (Musk), Square (Dorsey), Amazon (Bezos), Google, and Apple have changed the economy so much that it now resembles Europe’s medieval feudal system. The tech giants are the lords, while everyone else is a peasant, working their land for not much in return.

[Hashbrowns]

On 11/12/2024 at 8:38 AM, retrofade said:

That said, I haven't delved into the political side of it at all, so my viewpoint may be skewed. 

If you figure out how to filter out politics let me know. My discover page littered with TDS whininess about the world’s eminent ending. On Twitter, I follow zero political folks, never have liked any political tweet, and my For You page is Musk (always on top) and his cronies opinions below. Maybe some engagement or rage bait below that.

Tiktok seems better on the brain, lol.

[halfmanhalfbronco]

On 11/12/2024 at 9:15 PM, Hashbrowns said:

Facebook (Zuck), Twitter (Musk), Square (Dorsey), Amazon (Bezos), Google, and Apple have changed the economy so much that it now resembles Europe’s medieval feudal system. The tech giants are the lords, while everyone else is a peasant, working their land for not much in return.

Nah.

The fuedal lords could never imagine the safety and prosperity of the tech giants (their brothers, uncles, cousins, wife's lovers are not in positions to torture and imprison them for power) and the serfs could never imagine the average comfort level and social mobility of today's American.

We have it pretty good, when comparing to any other time.  Even if you are brown or trans and Trump is your POTUS....

[retrofade]

On 11/12/2024 at 8:20 PM, Hashbrowns said:

If you figure out how to filter out politics let me know. My discover page littered with TDS whininess about the world’s eminent ending. On Twitter, I follow zero political folks, never have liked any political tweet, and my For You page is Musk (always on top) and his cronies opinions below. Maybe some engagement or rage bait below that.

Tiktok seems better on the brain, lol.

Bluesky has the ability to mute words and tags, as well as robust blocking features.

 

Most of the accounts I'm following are tech or gaming related, so that may make a difference as well. I see the occasional political post, but not nearly the "sky is falling because Trump" stuff you're apparently seeing. 

[retrofade]

On 11/12/2024 at 8:57 AM, AztecAlien said:

So we have another social media echo chamber that people are flocking to in order improve humanity. 👍 

Jack Dorsey doesn't seem impressed after being involved in creating Bluesky. 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/07/jack-dorsey-quits-bluesky-board-urges-users-stay-elon-musk-x-twitter

https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/05/06/jack-dorsey-leaves-bluesky-board-calls-musks-x-a-freedom-platform

 

 

Dorsey left because he wanted the platform to be completely unmoderated, which is practically what TwiX is these days... unless you insult Elmo, then you get banned. 

[halfmanhalfbronco]

On 11/12/2024 at 9:26 PM, retrofade said:

Bluesky has the ability to mute words and tags, as well as robust blocking features.

 

Most of the accounts I'm following are tech or gaming related, so that may make a difference as well. I see the occasional political post, but not nearly the "sky is falling because Trump" stuff you're apparently seeing. 

I considered creating an account but my social media tank is about as full as it can get.  I think that is the problem other Twitter knock off companies have had...it's just not different enough to to provide the time value

[retrofade]

On 11/12/2024 at 8:34 PM, halfmanhalfbronco said:

I considered creating an account but my social media tank is about as full as it can get.  I think that is the problem other Twitter knock off companies have had...it's just not different enough to to provide the time value

Since I moved over to Bluesky, I pretty much haven't bothered with TwiX outside of seeing posts embedded here and elsewhere. I might just private my accounts there and log them out. 

[halfmanhalfbronco]

On 11/12/2024 at 9:38 PM, retrofade said:

Since I moved over to Bluesky, I pretty much haven't bothered with TwiX outside of seeing posts embedded here and elsewhere. I might just private my accounts there and log them out. 

There are just too many follows in the various scientific and sporting fields on x...that's really all I follow.

 

[4UNLV]

I was one that moved over last week.  Still settling in. 

[retrofade]

On 11/12/2024 at 9:08 PM, halfmanhalfbronco said:

There are just too many follows in the various scientific and sporting fields on x...that's really all I follow.

 

There's lots of them over on Bluesky now, and more moving over. 

[retrofade]

Wednesday was a pretty fun day on Bluesky, especially if you’re someone who’s been on Twitter/X long enough to remember when it too was fun.

Established users of the social media app spent the day welcoming new arrivals with messages about how this was the panacea they were looking for. They shared “Starter Packs” to help newbies find their old friends and good follows. They made it clear that 2024 Bluesky is nothing like 2024 X. Better yet, that 2024 Bluesky actually resembles 2012 Twitter.

The excitement there is palpable. The app went from having a little over 6 million users to 15 million in the last 90 days and hit number one in the iOS App Store this week. That’s a far cry from the 335 million active users on X, but according to Similarweb, 115,000 US-based web visitors deactivated their X accounts after Election Day and that company’s user base and appeal are in decline.

“The current owner of Twitter’s politics aside, his role in the recent election aside, the ways he has changed the platform aside, I think Twitter peaked probably 5-10 years ago, period,” The Ringer’s Howard Beck said on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast this week.

Beck has been on Bluesky for a while but was part of that app’s welcoming committee this week, especially for the many of his fellow sports media members who finally showed up.

Those new arrivals run the gamut, from ESPN’s Mina Kimes, Sarah Spain, and Benjamin Solak to Meadowlark Media’s Pablo Torre to FS1’s Rachel Nichols to The Athletic’s Nate Tice to The Ringer’s Danny Kelly. The sports media influx seemed to touch every major sports outlet and organization.

https://awfulannouncing.com/twitter/sports-media-social-migration-x-bluesky-threads.html

@halfmanhalfbronco

[happycamper]

On 11/12/2024 at 11:23 PM, halfmanhalfbronco said:

Nah.

The fuedal lords could never imagine the safety and prosperity of the tech giants (their brothers, uncles, cousins, wife's lovers are not in positions to torture and imprison them for power) and the serfs could never imagine the average comfort level and social mobility of today's American.

We have it pretty good, when comparing to any other time.  Even if you are brown or trans and Trump is your POTUS....

halfman, it's worse than literally 18 years ago. what are you talking about. "we live in a better time than medieval europe" is not a good rejoinder for "hey we're seeing monopolization across the board maybe we should do something about htat"

[halfmanhalfbronco]

On 11/18/2024 at 1:35 PM, happycamper said:

halfman, it's worse than literally 18 years ago. what are you talking about. "we live in a better time than medieval europe" is not a good rejoinder for "hey we're seeing monopolization across the board maybe we should do something about htat"

But aren't 

[happycamper]

On 11/18/2024 at 3:48 PM, halfmanhalfbronco said:

But aren't 

I mean. we are, from grocery stores to tech. And it's allowed for extreme market disruptions.