Bluesky is starting to feel like Twitter (2024)

Bluesky might be the Twitter-like we’ve been waiting for.

Yes, I know it’s still invite-only. Yes, I know there are only thousands of people on the platform right now. Yes, I know that it’s still missing table-stakes features like video uploads and DMs.

Still, I’m starting to feel that Bluesky is where it’s at.

It happened over the last few days. Bluesky — the decentralized Twitter alternative spun up by Twitter itself — has suddenly filled up with tech media and other people I follow on Twitter. Over and over again, I would check Twitter for one thing or another and see somebody begging for a Bluesky invite, then just a little while later, that person would be in my Bluesky skyline (timeline) and skeeting (tweeting). While that means I might be able to use Bluesky for actual newsgathering, which is what I rely on Twitter most for, I was most happy to see the vast majority of those news hounds and former Twitter obsessives posting with a raw, deranged energy that I haven’t seen in a very long time.

In one day, Bluesky hit viral escape velocity

Then on Thursday, the service hit the viral escape velocity that every new social platform searches for as some of the internet’s biggest names hopped on board. Dril joined. Then, AOC. WeRateDogs, the dog-rating service. Darth, the Sith Lord red panda. Hell, I even found a “Thursday! What a concept!” account and Hard Drive, the satirical video game publication.

In the midst of that busy day, Bluesky even survived a downtime. Shortly before 5:30PM ET on Thursday, the official Bluesky account said the service needed to upgrade databases after seeing “our biggest single-day jump in new users that we’ve experienced.” The downtime took a worrying 20 or so minutes longer than the expected five minutes, but the skyline eventually returned, with everyone posting a collective sigh of relief. Twitter’s fail whale from the platform’s early days is still legendary, so it’s a good sign that people couldn’t wait for it to return.

I’ve already written about how much fun I’ve been having on Bluesky. But I thought the platform, at least in the near term, would remain its niche little thing where only super dorks like me would hang out and post pictures of cats. It’s clearly unfinished — for example, to use the service on the web, Bluesky recommends a link with “staging” in the URL — and I figured the small team of developers would keep tinkering away before opening the floodgates.

I didn’t expect Darth, Dril, and AOC to join Bluesky on the same day less than two weeks after I published that. There’s a real energy about Bluesky right now.

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I can’t fully quit Twitter yet. I still rely a lot on the bird app to see up-to-the-minute news. Not everybody I want to follow is on Bluesky. I really wish there were things like DMs and video.

And the vibes aren’t quite as good as when I first joined up a couple weeks ago — which is perhaps the most telling signal yet that this could be Twitter 2.0. I’m seeing a lot more performative posts than I used to, as people are chasing clout. Some of the posts have been downright mean — users were threatening to beat writer Matthew Yglesias to death with hammers.Not great!

But I’m hopeful that things mellow over time and necessary features get added soon. That all could help Bluesky keep up its recent momentum and not turn into another flash-in-the-pan app like Peach or Ello. The promised decentralized features like account portability could make Bluesky enticing for more people.

I’m also encouraged by how active the Bluesky team is on the platform itself, and I appreciate hearing directly from the people actually building the product as issues have come up.They said Friday that “we cleared our calendars” to get blocking, which had been highly requested over the course of the week, shipped on the web that day, for example. (Blocking is expected to come to the mobile apps soon, if it hasn’t already by the time you read this.)

I started Thursday by posting a picture of a cat on Bluesky. I didn’t expect to end it pondering the nature of skeets. Bluesky has a long way to go to fully replace Twitter for me, but right now, I think it actually could.

Bluesky is starting to feel like Twitter (2024)

FAQs

Is Bluesky basically Twitter? ›

Unsurprisingly, Bluesky is essentially a barebones version of Twitter—it even looks very similar. Users can post 300-character “skeets” that can include photos and GIFs, but not videos. Users can reply, repost, quote posts, and like posts.

Is Bluesky a good alternative to Twitter? ›

In many ways, yes. However, Bluesky does not yet have DMs or some advanced tools like adding accounts to lists. Additionally, Twitter does not use a decentralized protocol like ActivityPub or AT. Bluesky was initially kicked off as a project convened by Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was CEO of Twitter.

Why are people going to Bluesky? ›

First launched on iOS in February 2023, Bluesky quickly surged in popularity among users disenchanted with Musk's Twitter. Savvy social media users begged one another for “invite codes” to join the fledgling network, whose quirky first adopters gave it a vibe that some likened to the early days of Twitter.

Will Bluesky have DMs? ›

Media in DMs: Currently, Bluesky DMs allow you to send text messages. In the future, you'll be able to send images and other forms of media! Group DMs: In the future, you'll be able to create direct messages for groups. Encrypted DMs: We intend to fully support end-to-end encrypted messaging down the line.

Which is better, Mastodon or Bluesky? ›

Bluedsky does offer private accounts but doesn't use two-factor authentication – which Mastodon does. Plus, if your Bluesky account is private, your posts are only hidden from view for users who haven't logged in to the site. The data is public to any other server connected to the network.

Is Jack Dorsey still involved with Bluesky? ›

Jack Dorsey has left the board of social networking service Bluesky, which he helped fund and popularize a year ago in the wake of regret over the sale of Twitter to Elon Musk.

What is the Bluesky controversy? ›

This concern was especially shown in Bluseky's failure to protect Black users and other marginalized groups from racism on the platform. The platform did not prevent users from using racial slurs in their account handles, leading to significant backlash.

Will Bluesky ever be public? ›

Publicly available since February 6, 2024. Previously invitation-only. In addition to its website, the service is also accessible via apps for iOS and Android.

What is replacing Twitter? ›

11 best Twitter alternatives
  • Bluesky. Bluesky is similar to Twitter as users can share photo updates and short texts or reply and share other people's posts. ...
  • Clubhouse. Clubhouse is an audio-only app where people talk to each other in a live podcast forum. ...
  • CounterSocial. ...
  • Discord. ...
  • LinkedIn. ...
  • Mastodon. ...
  • Threads. ...
  • Reddit.
Feb 6, 2024

Will Bluesky have private accounts? ›

Can I set my profile to be private? Currently, there are no private profiles on Bluesky. What happens when I delete a post? After you delete a post, it will be immediately removed from the user-facing app.

Can I message people on Bluesky? ›

To send a DM on Bluesky, users can select the chat icon at the bottom of their mobile screen or click the chat bubble in the sidebar on desktop. After creating a new chat, users can search for the recipient, type their message, and hit send.

How do I get on the Bluesky waitlist? ›

Sign up to receive your Bluesky invite code at https://bsky.app. According to Bluesky, this is how the majority of users on the decentralized social network were able to create their accounts. To sign up, you'll just need to click Create a new account, click Next, and then click Join the waitlist.

What's the best alternative to Twitter? ›

11 best Twitter alternatives
  1. Bluesky. Bluesky is similar to Twitter as users can share photo updates and short texts or reply and share other people's posts. ...
  2. Clubhouse. Clubhouse is an audio-only app where people talk to each other in a live podcast forum. ...
  3. CounterSocial. ...
  4. Discord. ...
  5. LinkedIn. ...
  6. Mastodon. ...
  7. Threads. ...
  8. Reddit.
Feb 6, 2024

Are Bluesky likes private? ›

Posts and likes are public.

What is Blue Sky Social media? ›

Bluesky is a decentralized social network that feels and works a lot like Twitter. And that's no coincidence. The company is backed by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. Kicked off in 2019 when Dorsey was still Twitter CEO, Bluesky was supposed to develop with cooperation and funding from Twitter.

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