The social media platform I've been using the most often these days (and also happens to be my favorite) is Bluesky, a microblogging platform. But this wasn't always the case.
Before Bluesky
In 2022, Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion, and turned it into "X" (yeah, like anyone who isn't drunk on the MAGA kool-aid is gonna call it that), which was billed as a "free speech platform". To be clear, free speech is something I'm supportive of; people should have the right to speak their mind on whatever they please. The problem is when "free speech" is used as a cover for neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and far-right accounts to post their propaganda and misinformation and get off scot-free.
Obviously, this was a concern for left-leaning users of the platform, and Elon's actions would soon prove they were right to be concerned. Actions he did while he was Twitter's CEO included turning Twitter's blue-check verification system into something right-wing trolls could use to pay $8 per month to have their tweets boosted to the top, as well as getting rid of rules banning deadnaming and misgendering and allowing users on the platform who previously would've been banned such as EndWokeness and a whole bunch of Pepe the Frog pfp accounts and far-right conspiracy theorist accounts.
Seeing all this coming, users of the site who were left-leaning wanted a refuge. That's when Threads and Bluesky came into the picture.
I joined Threads when it launched back in 2023. Threads was Meta's answer to Twitter, though the difference is that it's connected to Instagram, so anyone who has an Instagram account can join Threads without having to make a separate account. This was my main platform for the time. Bluesky, on the other hand, was still invite-only at the time, and I didn't have much faith that it'd also be a viable Twitter alternative.
But then it happened: I got an invite code for Bluesky, after waiting for what felt like an eternity. This was what started my transition from a habitual Threads user to a habitual Bluesky user.
The Beginning
I first joined Bluesky in August 2023. I immediately noticed that it had quite a different vibe from Threads. It felt much closer to what Twitter was like pre-Musk. Threads, in comparison, began to look like essentially a cheap copy of Twitter, clearly meant to cash in on the Twitter alternative craze.
Back then, Bluesky also didn't have as many features as it does now. It didn't have GIF support or video support, nor did it have the ability to compose threads out of multiple posts. It also didn't have direct messaging, and its app icon wasn't the cute blue butterfly. It instead was a picture of clouds in the sky; meant as a placeholder icon while the platform was in beta.
Before, I didn't have a lot of faith in Bluesky being viable as a platform. But getting that invite code, which turned out to be the key to unlock the door, had flipped my opinion about it completely on its head. I came to love Bluesky. I loved how it felt much more like old Twitter than even Threads did.
Departure from Threads
The good vibes on Threads didn't last long. Soon, Meta began making changes to the platform that would not be well-received by its userbase. These changes included the following:
- Deprioritizing politics (which was not exactly a smart move considering who much of its userbase was comprised of)
- A change Adam Mosseri suggested in a poll in which posts would be archived after a period of time, meaning you could no longer like or comment on them after that time passed
- Other users being suspended unfairly, with no reason given for their suspension
Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg also made other changes that were obviously meant to curry favor with MAGA and Trump's base, with one such change being getting rid of fact-checking in favor of a Community Notes-esque system. Zuckerberg's embrace of Trump made left-wing and progressive users feel unnerved, because they had just fled a platform which was quickly becoming enshittified, only to see Threads begin to enshittify itself.
I left Threads in 2024 for Bluesky, after another user had been suspended without reason. Deprioritizing politics on Threads was already a strike against the platform, but that incident was my last straw. I was done with Threads for good. I had already begun using Bluesky significantly more often than Threads, although I had still been a regular user of the latter. But after I deleted Threads, Bluesky became my main platform, and still is to this day.
Why Bluesky Is Better
There are multiple things Bluesky has that, IMO, make it a better platform than both Twitter and Threads.
On Bluesky, there is no algorithm that artificially boosts posts. What you see is what you get. Engagement is organic as well, meaning users are incentivized to actually work to get engagement on the platform. This wasn't the case with Threads, where an algorithm was used to boost posts instead. Engagement on Bluesky, on the other hand, feels much more authentic, giving the platform a sense of authenticity and being user-driven that Threads could only hope to.
Another thing Bluesky also does better than Twitter is when it comes to blocking users. On Bluesky, if you block a user, it's a nuclear block; the blocked user disappears altogether from the platform, and it's like they never had an account there in the first place. Bluesky also encourages blocking trolls on sight instead of engaging with them. This strikes me as a sensible approach, because there's nothing to gain from arguing with those who seek to bring trouble your way. Doing so will only cause misery and needless strife while solving no problems.
Bluesky also introduced a verification system. This system is basically how Twitter's old blue-check system worked: a way to distinguish legitimate companies and celebrities from impersonators. I like this feature as well, because it gives us a way to tell who's a real celebrity and who's an impersonator.
The protocol Bluesky is built on, the AT Protocol, has also given way to apps such as Flashes (an Instagram-style app), Skylight Social (a TikTok-style app), and WhiteWind (which just happens to be the very site I'm writing this on). Maybe it'll also allow for an ATProto-powered YouTube alternative in the future, which would be awesome.
Imperfections
Of course, Bluesky is not perfect. For one, it still doesn't have an edit button on posts. This means that, if I make a spelling mistake or typo, I have to delete the whole post and rewrite it just to fix that one little mistake. That can get tiring, and it'd be much simpler to just click the edit button to fix that little mistake without having to delete and rewrite the whole post. This is a feature I've been speaking in favor of on the platform for some time now.
Also. with Bluesky exploding in popularity in recent times, bad actors were inevitably going to show up to try to cause trouble for users. One in particular has been JD Vance, who is the current vice president of the United States. It was obvious to us that he joined Bluesky for no other reason than simply to troll us, but thankfully, nobody on the platform has engaged with him. They've simply blocked him. The "own the other side" approach to politics is not a type of politics I can vibe with. There isn't much I can think of that's more pathetic than to base your every move simply on getting the other side's blood boiling.
Bluesky also has blocklists, which allow users to block multiple users at a time by subscribing to them. This works well for the most part, but it can also miss the mark and result in innocent users being caught in the crossfire. For example, when I had "American Patriot 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙🦅" in my bio, that led to me getting put on a MAGA blocklist, according to a conversation I had with another user named JayLeeBeanz. I still, to this day, have no clue what I was doing on such a blocklist. I assume it saw the word "patriot" in my bio and thus wrongfully blocked me because it thought I was a MAGA account; in reality, I've never been part of the MAGA movement and in fact have made posts criticizing the movement (and Donald Trump as well) in an admittedly crass, harsh and blunt manner.
Conclusion
While it has had its low points, Bluesky is also a platform that I'm finding myself enjoying using more than I ever did Twitter or Threads. It's become every bit the Twitter alternative Threads wishes it could be, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for the platform, particularly with the AT Protocol having opened the door to a new, decentralized corner of the internet that goes beyond Bluesky itself.
