Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform that emerged from Twitter in 2019, recently opened its doors to the public after launching in beta in February 2023. Unlike Twitter, Bluesky is built on the decentralized AT protocol infrastructure and aims to revitalize social media as a trustworthy, scalable, and portable public square. With key innovations in algorithm and moderation transparency, Bluesky offers users the ability to customize the moderation and algorithm(s) used on their personal profile feed.
Despite being compared to Twitter and seen as a competitor to the tech giant, Bluesky’s underlying architecture is quite different. While Twitter operates as a single company with a siloed ecosystem, Bluesky is decentralized, allowing users to own their data and migrate to different servers. Led by CEO Jay Graber, Bluesky became an independent organization in 2022 and has attracted over 9.7 million users since its beta launch in 2023. The platform’s user experience, similar to Twitter, includes features such as comments, likes, and reposts, as well as direct messaging, GIFs, and video.
At the core of Bluesky is the authenticated transport (AT) protocol, a decentralized networking technology that enables users to transparently communicate with each other. While the Bluesky app resembles Twitter, the AT protocol is the key innovation that could fundamentally change the social media landscape. Built on a federation of social networks, the AT protocol allows users to self-host servers, secure data, and control how it is used. Its goal is to put users in control of their data and provide a resistant platform experience free from corporate influence.
Bluesky also aims to address the lack of trust, scalability, and portability in existing social media platforms. Through the AT protocol, users can port their social network profile to an alternative network without losing data or social contacts. Bluesky’s trifecta of objectives, trust, scale, and portability, align with an evolution from platforms to protocols, envisioning social media as common infrastructure accessible to all. With algorithmic choice and composable moderation tools, users have control over what they see and don’t see on their feeds, providing a more transparent and customizable social media experience.
While Bluesky faces competition from other decentralized social media platforms like Mastodon and Threads, its unique approach with the AT protocol has attracted a growing user base and investment. With $8 million raised in a seed funding round, Bluesky’s potential to disrupt the centralized social media landscape is gaining recognition. As the social media landscape transitions from Web2 to Web3, the demand for more transparent, flexible, and open platforms like Bluesky is expected to grow, offering users a decentralized alternative to traditional social media giants.
