Bluesky Experiences a Surge in Popularity
Bluesky, the decentralized social network (aka “microblog”) founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has gained significant traction as a cleaner, less toxic alternative to X (formerly Twitter). Following the U.S. presidential election, dissatisfaction with X—driven by Elon Musk’s controversies, disinformation concerns, and political ties—led to over 1 million sign-ups in 24 hours, pushing Bluesky's user base past 16 million, according to TechCrunch (here).
The platform’s growth has also been fueled by events like X’s ban in Brazil and moderation issues on Threads. Despite technical issues on Thursday due to ISP problems, Bluesky became the top free app on the U.S. App Store, surpassing ChatGPT and Threads.
While smaller than Threads (275 million users) and X (which last year had roughly 250 million daily active users and is projected by Musk to grow to 1 billion in 2024), Bluesky boasts higher engagement rates—a trend highlighted by CEO Jay Graber. Meanwhile, Meta announced this week that its app Threads, another X rival, had received 15 million sign-ups in November.
Why I Signed-Up
I signed up for BlueSky for two reasons: first, because X has become a platform overwhelmed by excessive negativity and toxic discourse; and second, to express my dissatisfaction with Elon Musk’s actions, character, and political affiliations.
Why You Should Sign-Up
If you share this perspective, you can create an account on BlueSky by clicking here: https://bsky.app/