Roundup: Has Bluesky’s moment arrived?

Bluesky seems to be taking off, and I can’t deny that I’m thrilled.

Since the US election, there’s been an influx of users onto the Twitter alternative. Before November 5, there were over 13 million users on the platform, but after people saw the results, it seems quite a number decided they needed to find greener pastures, such that Bluesky’s user base has now exceeded 18 million users with no signs of slowing down.

To be sure, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to Twitter itself or Meta’s Threads, but I don’t think pure numbers are everything. The statements of Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino make it feel like they’ve been padding Twitter/X’s numbers for quite a while, and while Threads has a lot of users, complaints abound about how bad its algorithm is and generally how unpleasant it is to use.

The thing about Bluesky is that, at least for me, it makes social media feel fun again. My feed isn’t full of right-wing trash trying to influence me or get me riled up, nor a bunch of influencer engagement bait. In fact, there’s no algorithmic feed at all; I’m just seeing the posts of people I follow, or subscribing to feeds other people made to see the type of content I want to interact with. It’s wonderful, and refreshing.

Not to mention how this influx has coincided with the embrace of starter packs by the Bluesky user base. Basically, it’s a feature that allows you to put together a list of up to 150 accounts to make it easier for new users to quickly find a group of people they might want to engage with. For example, I made two starter packs: one of critical tech voices and another of former guests on Tech Won’t Save Us. I also made a custom feed for the latter, so people can easily see what just those people are posting if they want to.

I haven’t made a big point of leaving Twitter/X. I still post there a bit, but I find that as Bluesky has picked up, I’m spending a lot more time there instead. Twitter/X is becoming more of a place where I post my writing and podcasts so people know they exist, but Bluesky is where I post for fun and properly engage with people.

I’m not getting my hopes up that Bluesky is the solution to all social media’s ills. There are concerns about its treatment of Palestinian accounts or those posting about the genocide, and I hope the site’s leaders take action to ensure that isn’t happening. But that’s the thing: I feel like the people running and developing the website are far more responsive to their users than I’ve seen on any other platform.

In recent days, they’ve confirmed user data won’t be used for training generative AI models and have provided updates on what they’re doing to bolster trust and safety. They’ve also acknowledged the pressures of monetization, and several months ago explained they’re working on a subscription product that will provide better video and profile customization options — not priority to posts or verification badges.

I’m having a great time on Bluesky, and I’d encourage you to consider joining me over there if you haven’t already. But if you like where you post right now, that’s great — as long as it means Twitter/X’s decline continues.

This week in the roundup, find a piece about advertisers returning to Twitter/X to get Musk’s favor now that he’s close to Trump and some articles on key new EU tech regulators I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about in the months and years to come. Plus, find your usual labor updates and other tech news you might have missed.

On Tech Won’t Save Us, I celebrated the 250th episode of the podcast by speaking with Brian Merchant about what a Trump presidency backed by tech billionaires will mean for the industry, regulatory efforts, and all of us.

Aside from that, I was name dropped by The Hollywood Reporter this week as a “prominent journalist” using Bluesky (hey, I’ll take it!). I also had a great interview with Gerald Holubowicz at Synth Media in France about the state of the tech industry and what the election of Donald Trump will mean for where things go from here. The introduction is in French, but the interview is in English.

Have a great week!

— Paris