The latest social media sensation closely mirrors Twitter, with similar profiles, timelines, and color schemes. Remarkably, it’s created by the same individual.
However, Bluesky, the brainchild of Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, stands out with its unique underpinnings.
Released in a closed beta for iOS in February and Android this month, Bluesky operates on a decentralized network, giving users enhanced control over service operations, data storage, and content moderation.
Recently, it has attracted attention from journalists, politicians, and celebrities, including Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, model Chrissy Teigen, and the 90s band Eve 6.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky describes itself as “a new social network for microblogging.” Users can post and follow short updates on a timeline, much like Twitter, but with notable differences: it currently lacks hashtags and direct messaging features.
Bluesky was initiated independently of Twitter during Dorsey’s tenure as CEO, with funding from Twitter until it became an independent entity in February 2022. In a 2019 tweet introducing the concept, Dorsey mentioned plans to “build an open community around it, inclusive of companies & organizations, researchers, civil society leaders,” cautioning that this development would not be immediate.
Last year, Dorsey expressed his regret that Twitter became a company, suggesting that if a service was a protocol, it “can’t be owned by a state, or company.”
The concept of a decentralized social network might sound familiar due to Mastodon, another Twitter alternative that garnered attention late last year.
