What is Bluesky, the platform that has gained millions of users since the American presidential election

“It’s official, 1 million people joined us in one day”: a social network, an alternative to X, attracts crowds

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a social media platform launched in 2021. It was initially created in 2019 as an internal Twitter project. After Musk's takeover of X in 2022, all ties between BlueSky and Twitter were severed.

Although it was initially accessible by invitation only, the social network opened to everyone in February 2021. Since then, the platform has been led by Jay Graber who describes it in the New York Times: “Today's social platforms lock in their users and exclude developers. We want to build an ecosystem that developers trust. If they have an idea to improve social media, they don't need to lobby on us to make a difference. They can just do it themselves.”

Bluesky likes to differentiate itself from X by arguing that one person should not hold as much power in their hands as Elon Musk. Thus, the platform explains that it wants to give power to users by allowing them to manage their own or decide how the algorithm sorts information.

In terms of its use, we can find a news feed similar to that of other platforms. This is personalized based on what the user likes and the accounts they follow. You can also find direct messaging and a functionality allowing video sharing.

How Bluesky is rethinking traditional social media

Why this rapid increase in users?

This increase in the number of users could be linked to the appointment of Elon Musk, boss ofCommission on Government Efficiency” for Trump's next term. Many X users have announced that they will leave the platform bought by Musk in 2022 following this announcement. Media outlets such as the Guardian have also indicated their removal from X, explaining that the decision was due to the “often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform.

However, it must be remembered that this increase in the number of users is not unprecedented. When X was banned in Brazil, Bluesky gained 2.6 million users, 85% of whom were from Brazil.

Bluesky is not the only social network experiencing an ascent. Threads, an alternative to X, developed by Meta reported this Thursday the arrival of 15 million new users during the first 15 days of November.