Bluesky, bsky, whatever.
It's an alternative to Twitter (yes, I am still calling it Twitter, not X) and the Fediverse (such as Mastodon), running atop the AT Protocol (also known as 'ATProto').
I decided to test it out a few days ago, with my account being @ewancroft.uk. Yes! Even domains can be used as the handles, with the default being a subdomain under bsky.social (i.e., ewancroft.bsky.social) however ATProto has a nice trick where if you add a /.well-known/ file called atproto-did and add the identifier (which you can find under Settings > Change Handle) on your website, you can have the domain as the handle!
My Thoughts
Bluesky has a pretty similar feel to Twitter (in particular - early Twitter c. 2008-2013) and a similar UI. It's not much of a surprise when co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, was on Bluesky's board of directors. He initially announced Bluesky as an initiative while CEO of Twitter in 20191 and continued on with it as a board member when it was incorporated as a separate benefit corporation from Twitter in late 20211
Anyway, enough of reading off of Wikipedia. Let me talk about what I think.
User Interface
I quite like the UI, it's familiar for those coming from Twitter and has the familiar layout as such. No real complaints.
My Annoyances
It feels... sort of lonely?
There is an ever-present feeling of loneliness for me while I'm browsing Bluesky. Maybe I should use Graysky?
I personally have trouble finding people on the platform, despite there being a 'Discover' feed, and this gives me a disconnect. I think this is the rose-tinted glasses but I feel like Mastodon's 'Explore' page is better because it shows posts, people and hashtags. Bluesky's equivalent feels off... I don't know why.
Lack of Markdown
I know I'm spoiled for Markdown formatting, with this website's content being written in Markdown and Mastodon Glitch Edition (a Mastodon fork) using it too, but I don't know why even the most basic Markdown syntax is ignored, such as
-
*italics* -
**bold** -
~~strikethrough~~
when they are very helpful!
300 character limit
Short and sweet... not.
I'm definitely spoiled because Mastodon by default supplies 500 characters to play with per post, and infosec.exchange, my Mastodon server, supplies me with an overly generous 11000 characters.
No Direct Messaging Support
One glaring omission in Bluesky's feature set is the lack of direct messaging (DM) support. DMs are a crucial aspect of social media platforms, so why leave them out?
Update! as of this post, DMs are here!
Lack of Post Editing Functionality
Another notable absence is the inability to edit posts after they've been published. This lack of editing is annoying for me because I sometimes make mistakes and being able to edit them is a godsend.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my initial exploration of Bluesky has revealed both promising aspects and areas for improvement. The platform's familiar interface, and its community reminiscent of early Twitter, offer a comfortable experience for users transitioning from other social media platforms. The integration of the AT Protocol allows for unique handle customisation, showcasing Bluesky's flexibility and potential for personalisation.
