Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform that emerged from Twitter in 2019, is gaining popularity as a trusted public square focused on transparency and user control. The platform, built on the authenticated transport (AT) protocol infrastructure, aims to revamp social media by offering portability, scalability, and trustworthiness. While Bluesky is often seen as a competitor to Twitter, its decentralized architecture sets it apart from the tech giant. The platform, which launched in beta in February 2023, is now open to the public after amassing over 9.7 million users.
Bluesky offers a user experience similar to Twitter, with features such as comments, likes, and reposts. While the platform may seem familiar to Twitter users, its innovative networking technology, the AT protocol, is the real game-changer. This technology allows users to transparently communicate with each other and even self-host their servers. This decentralized approach puts users in control of their data and protects them from external influence. Bluesky’s emphasis on user control and customization sets it apart from other social media platforms.
One of the key features of Bluesky is algorithmic choice, which allows users to modify or select different algorithms for their feed. The platform also offers composable moderation, giving users the ability to customize their moderation filters. These features aim to address concerns about algorithm manipulation and lack of moderation transparency on centralized social media platforms. By empowering users to make informed choices about what they see and don’t see, Bluesky seeks to enhance trust and authenticity in social media interactions.
Bluesky’s long-term goal is to establish a decentralized social media protocol that can be used by anyone, similar to how Bitcoin revolutionized currency with its blockchain technology. The AT protocol enables users to migrate their social network profiles seamlessly between different platforms, ensuring continuity and portability. By shifting the focus from platforms to protocols, Bluesky aims to create a more open, transparent, and adaptable social media ecosystem. The platform’s trifecta of objectives—trust, scale, and portability—guides its development and sets the foundation for a new era of social networking.
As one of the pioneers in decentralized social media, Bluesky faces competition from other platforms such as Nostr, Mastodon, and Threads, each offering a unique approach to decentralization. Despite Bluesky’s growing user base and seed funding, the platform still has a long way to go to challenge the dominance of centralized social media giants like Twitter. However, with the increasing shift towards Web3 and transparent technologies, decentralized social media platforms like Bluesky are poised to reshape the digital landscape and provide users with more control and flexibility over their online interactions.
