Bluesky may’ve began as a aspect challenge, however it’s shortly making a reputation for itself within the social media panorama. In lower than six months, it has grown from 10 million to over 30 million customers, attracting everybody from artists and tech lovers to public figures like Barack Obama.
You may be questioning if Bluesky is value testing out. Because it’s nonetheless evolving, there’s no definitive reply. However this implies there’s tons of room for experimentation and potential for early adopters to make their mark on the community.
This text will get you up to the mark on all issues Bluesky. You’ll study extra about what it’s, what customers like about it, the way it differs from different networks and the overarching challenges and alternatives manufacturers ought to pay attention to.
What’s Bluesky?
Bluesky is a social app the place individuals share brief posts with textual content, photos, movies, hyperlinks and extra. On the floor, Bluesky has a well-known microblog-style structure. However what actually makes Bluesky distinctive is what’s beneath the hood.
It runs on the AT Protocol, an open-source framework that provides customers extra management over their social expertise. This protocol permits customers to take their id and content material with them in the event that they go away. Totally different apps may also join by way of the identical community.
Right here’s a fast historical past of Bluesky:
- 2019: Began as a analysis challenge inside X (previously Twitter), led by then-CEO Jack Dorsey. The objective: Discover how social media could possibly be extra open and user-driven.
- 2022: Grew to become an unbiased public profit company, targeted on constructing the AT Protocol.
- 2024: Gained traction as extra individuals looked for options to conventional platforms.
- 2025: Continues to develop and add new options like blue-check account verification and Trusted Verifiers.
What do customers like concerning the Bluesky app?
Curious why individuals are spending extra time on Bluesky? In keeping with the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, 48% of worldwide social media customers plan to spend extra time on new / rising social platforms (like Bluesky) over the following six months. And Millennials, Gen X and Boomers particularly are displaying extra curiosity in becoming a member of Bluesky over Gen Z.
Right here’s a take a look at the way it works and what makes it completely different.
How Bluesky works
Should you’ve used any community with a feed, likes and replies, you’ll choose up Bluesky shortly. It has a clear, easy and recognizable structure.
If you log in, you’ll see a navigation bar on the left with all of the necessities:
- Residence: Takes you to your major timeline.
- Search: Discover individuals, posts or key phrases throughout the community.
- Notifications: See who’s preferred, reposted or replied to your posts.
- Messages: Your non-public DMs reside right here, with options to regulate who can message you.
- Feeds: Discover and pin community-curated timelines (extra on these within the subsequent part!)
- Lists: Set up your following by theme or curiosity.
- Profile: View and replace your bio, profile image, deal with and put up historical past.
- Settings: Handle your account, content material preferences, moderation instruments and look settings.
Within the heart of the app, there are three major feed views:
- Uncover is the closest factor to a “For You” web page. It’s the place Bluesky highlights what’s in style or fascinating.
- Following reveals posts from individuals you comply with, in easy chronological order.
- Customized Feeds will present you feeds constructed round sure key phrases, put up kinds or communities.
On the right-hand aspect, you’ll see some trending matters that can assist you discover what individuals are speaking about in actual time.
Simply faucet the little blue icon on the backside left to begin drafting a put up. You’ve as much as 300 characters to write down, and the choice so as to add images, movies, GIFs and emojis, select the language and set who can work together together with your put up.
To have interaction with different individuals’s posts, you’ll be able to like, repost, quote put up or reply.
Distinctive options
Whereas the app appears to be like acquainted, Bluesky has some fascinating options that you simply received’t discover on different social networks.
Customized Feeds
What actually units Bluesky aside is its customization. With Customized Feeds, customers have extra management over what reveals up of their timeline. Need updates from quiet mutuals? Strive the Quiet Posters feed. Into BookTok? BookSky is the literary nook of Bluesky. Wish to know what’s trending in your circle? Fashionable With Associates highlights posts from individuals you comply with and the content material they’re partaking with.
Starter Packs
You realize that awkward second whenever you’re the primary to point out up at a celebration? Being early to a brand new app can really feel the identical method. Fortuitously, Bluesky’s Starter Packs makes it simple to convey buddies into your nook of Bluesky. This characteristic means that you can suggest your favourite accounts to comply with and go-to Customized Feeds whenever you invite buddies to affix you.
Decentralization
Most social media networks are closed programs, owned by a small group of decision-makers. TikTok influencers, for instance, can’t simply transfer their account, followers or content material over to Instagram. Every thing you create is locked into that app. For creators and types, meaning being on the mercy of community modifications.
Bluesky flips that mannequin on its head. It’s constructed to be open and transportable throughout the AT Protocol community. In different phrases, your profile, posts and viewers aren’t locked into Bluesky. Customers can take the whole lot with them in the event that they resolve to modify to a different app constructed on the identical protocol, with out beginning over.
Consider it like holding your cellphone quantity whenever you change carriers. Decentralization works in an identical method, giving creators and types far more autonomy over their social presence.
How is Bluesky completely different from different networks?
From its customized feeds to its ad-free mannequin, Bluesky is carving out a distinct segment within the social media world.
‘Select your individual journey’ residence feed
Most social media platforms resolve what seems in your feed, which normally contains a mixture of in style posts, promoted content material and updates from individuals you comply with.
Bluesky takes a distinct strategy. As an alternative of 1 default timeline, customers can comply with or create customized feeds, giving them extra management over what they see and when.
Wish to sustain with a selected neighborhood or keep away from sure content material varieties? You’re within the driver’s seat.
Group-first tradition
With no advertisements (extra on that within the subsequent part) and a still-developing influencer scene, Bluesky’s social media tradition feels extra just like the early web than different networks. It’s artistic and quirky, residence to artists, writers, journalists and individuals who care about constructing genuine connections and cultivating a secure digital area.
One instance is accessibility. Many customers actively encourage picture descriptions, and a few even use the two,000-character alt textual content restrict to sneak in jokes or Easter eggs.
It additionally has considerate battle administration instruments, reminiscent of robust blocks and reply limits, to forestall pile-ons and assist customers set boundaries.
Total, Bluesky may be very community-oriented, so manufacturers that need to set up a presence right here ought to take a extra informal, lo-fi strategy to social media content material creation. Give attention to real, genuine connections and conversations.
Advert-free enterprise mannequin
Bluesky isn’t ad-supported and at present has no plans to be. As an alternative, it’s growing a subscription mannequin for premium options like higher-quality video uploads, profile customization, put up analytics, bookmark folders or translation instruments.
This alternative signifies that customers and types can’t ‘purchase’ attain. The easiest way to develop and amplify your message is to construct actual relationships and present up in ways in which resonate together with your viewers.
Challenges and alternatives
Any platform attempting to disrupt the established order will face some huge challenges, and Bluesky isn’t any exception. Because the community grows, there might be some rising pains, however there may also be helpful alternatives for these keen to experiment.
Moderation
Bluesky’s decentralized social media strategy offers customers extra company, however it additionally makes moderation extra advanced. Proper now, the platform helps a stackable moderation system that layers filters from numerous companies. Customers can subscribe to moderation “feeds” the identical method they comply with customized content material feeds.
However with out a common rulebook, dangerous content material may slip by way of. Be conscious of which feeds or communities you align with, as they could affect how your viewers perceives you.
Misinformation
No single algorithm helps area of interest communities thrive on Bluesky. However that freedom additionally means misinformation can unfold quietly. For instance, in 2024, Bluesky had spam accounts impersonating public figures and making an attempt to rip-off customers.
Since then, the community has rolled out extra verification options, together with area handles, blue checks and trusted verifiers like The New York Occasions. For manufacturers, investing in profile verification can go a great distance in constructing belief.
Scaling
Bluesky lately crossed the 30 million person mark. That’s spectacular development in a short while. Nonetheless, it’s on the smaller aspect in comparison with different networks. Threads, for example, hit 275 million month-to-month customers by late 2024.
However its modest measurement can be a part of the attraction. With much less noise and competitors, Bluesky feels extra like a artistic sandbox. It’s the proper place to check new concepts and discover new methods of partaking. For manufacturers that worth creativity and early momentum, it’s a uncommon probability to assist form the tradition of a rising community.
Construct a constructive neighborhood
The Bluesky tradition as we speak is artistic, curious and deeply people-first. Conversations are likely to really feel extra considerate and grounded, giving manufacturers an actual alternative to develop their presence by way of significant interactions, quite than surface-level engagement.
Plus, with robust area of interest communities already forming—particularly amongst artists, writers, tech of us and journalists—Bluesky provides an opportunity to attach with extra targeted and energetic audiences.
Because the community grows, manufacturers coming into the scene now ought to know that this isn’t the place for copy-paste model messaging. Company converse most likely received’t land. However if you happen to present up as a thoughtful, values-aligned participant, you’ll stand out.
Navigating the Bluesky horizon
Is Bluesky proper in your model? In case your viewers is artistic, tech-savvy, values-driven or community-oriented, it’s positively one to observe. The community continues to be rising, which suggests there’s area to experiment, get bizarre and assist form its tradition.
Simply maintain belief and model security in thoughts. Declare your area deal with (like @yourbrand.com) to remain genuine, use verification instruments to guard your presence and be considerate about the place you present up. Additionally, don’t overthink your content material. Prioritize making connections and artistic exploration over super-sophisticated campaigns.
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FAQs
What’s Bluesky used for?
Bluesky is a social community the place individuals share brief posts, be part of conversations and discover area of interest communities. It really works equally to different microblogging social platforms like X or Threads, with a bit extra personalization. Customers can comply with completely different feeds based mostly on their pursuits and customise their timelines to create their very own social ‘residence base.’
Why are individuals going to Bluesky?
Individuals are becoming a member of Bluesky for a extra ‘early web’ model social expertise. It’s ad-free, customizable and extra community-driven. Many customers additionally like its decentralized, open-source mannequin which provides them extra possession over their on-line presence.
Who owns Bluesky?
Bluesky is an unbiased public profit firm. It was initially incubated with assist from X (previously Twitter) however now operates individually with its personal CEO, board and funding. Its mission is to construct a decentralized social net by way of the AT Protocol, empowering customers to take cost of their knowledge, id and expertise throughout social networks.
