Looking to leave the Twitter ecosystem? Blue skyhe alternative twitter backed by Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, has now launched into Android users. The application, which promises a future of decentralized social networks and choose your own algorithmsIt was initially released for iOS users at the end of February and remains in a closed beta version.
Exclusivity is driving demand for the newer social network to a degree, but so is having Dorsey’s name attached to it. For many, Bluesky represents the hope for a new version of Twitter, one that maintains the basics around short posts and a shared timeline, but addresses issues around moderation and centralized control.
Bluesky aims to give users algorithmic choice, eventually allowing them to choose from a marketplace of algorithms that allow them to control what they see in their own feed, rather than having it controlled by some central authority.
At launch, however, Bluesky remains a stripped-down version of Twitter without many of the features that make the social network what it is today, including basic tools for tracking likes or bookmarks, editing tweets, quoting tweets, DMing, using hashtags, and more. It is also incorporating decentralization with its own protocol: the AT protocol — instead of contributing to existing work around ActivityPubthe protocol powering the open source Twitter alternative Mastodon and a range of other decentralized applications in the broader “Fediverse,” the name for these interconnected servers running open source software used for web publishing.
Image Credits: Blue sky
That puts Bluesky outside of where much of the current activity around decentralized social networks takes place.
Although Mastodon has been criticized for being too complicated or having bad vibesAt times, the protocol behind it has inspired a wave of new developments following Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover of Twitter. Former Twitter app creators turned their attention to the social network after Musk unceremoniously cut off their access to the Twitter API, having recently released polished Mastodon clients like Ivory and Mammoth. flip board and Half have also taken active roles in the community, setting up their own Mastodon servers and tumblr He has been weighing his options.
Despite its challenges, demand for Bluesky appears to have increased. Anecdotally, it felt like there was increased demand for access to Bluesky in the last couple of weeks, thanks in part to Bluesky’s waitlist system and the limited number of invites available. Recently, the network let in more users and now claims have a small user base of around 20,000.
with the app arrival to androidit’s clear that Bluesky wants to further increase that number.
What is not clear is how the future development of Bluesky will be financed. Last year, Bluesky received $13 million as it emerged from Twitter, making sure it had the freedom and independence to get started with R&D. Jack Dorsey continues on his board, but also spends time on other projects, like Nostr, as well as running Block. And Musk’s Twitter isn’t likely to continue funding his competitor; in fact, it’s crazy that Twitter’s own board of directors allowed this in the first place!
That could put Bluesky in a position where, at some point, it will need to raise more capital, competing with other Twitter alternatives seeking financial backing from investors. Besides Mastodon, T2, To spill, Mail, and others are now walking down the same path, hoping to lure disgruntled users into their own app ecosystems. But that means the Twitter diaspora may not find one “new Twitter” in the end, but dozens of smaller communities offering a Twitter-like experience.