Interested in the new social media platform that aims to compete with Twitter?
Bluesky is a decentralized social network led by CEO Jay Graber, with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on its board of directors.
What is Bluesky?
In December 2019, Dorsey announced through a series of tweets that Twitter would fund a small, independent team of up to five people to develop an open, decentralized standard for social networking.
The goal was for Twitter to one day become a client of this standard.
Dorsey highlighted several factors that drove this move:
Challenges posed by centralized control include difficulties in enforcing global policies to address abuse and disinformation. The changing value of social media from content hosting and removal to recommendation algorithms. These algorithms, which are now usually proprietary, direct users’ attention. Dorsey hopes Bluesky will allow for alternatives built. Existing social media incentives often draw attention to controversial and scandalous content rather than promoting healthy, informative conversations. Recent technological advances, such as blockchain, have made decentralized solutions more viable. These solutions could lead to open and sustainable hosting, governance and monetization.
We are calling this team @blue sky. Our CTO @ParagA will be ready to find a leader, who will then hire and lead the rest of the team. Please follow or DM @blue sky if you are interested in learning more or joining! 🌐💬💙
— jack (@jack) December 11, 2019
Blue sky it strives to make social networks work similarly to email, blogs, or phone numbers as open systems that facilitate online interactions.
Bluesky developers created the AT protocol, which is about to end. The AT Protocol aims to make modern social networking and public online conversations more like the early days of the Internet, when anyone could create a blog or use RSS to follow multiple blogs.
The Bluesky application shows the features of this protocol.
Bluesky hopes this will lead to new advances in social networking, allowing researchers and communities to solve problems currently facing social networking, as Dorsey tweeted.
Social media problems Bluesky hopes to solve
Most traditional social networks are closed platforms controlled by a central authority that dictates user and developer permissions.
If a user decides to leave a traditional social network, they have to start over, losing their connections and content. For developers, building a new app requires overcoming network effects and rebuilding the social graph from scratch.
Also, they risk being shut down if they try to build with these companies’ APIs.
Likewise, content creators may lose their audience if the platform changes its rules.
The AT Protocol is designed to change this scenario, providing a more open, democratic and innovative environment for users, developers and content creators.
How to get a Bluesky invite code
There are several ways to get an invite to Bluesky.
You can register on the waiting list and wait for an invitation to join Blue sky.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
You can ask your friends on other social networks if they have an invite.
You can search Bluesky invite code on Twitter. Check the latest results and respond quickly to receive an invitation. (This is the method that worked for me.)
Screenshot from Twitter, May 2023
You can even buy an invite code for Bluesky on eBay.
Screenshot from eBay, May 2023
How to create your Bluesky account
Once you have your invite code, you can create your account on the Bluesky website or app from App store or Google Play.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
You can choose the default Bluesky server (you@bsky.social) or continue these directions to use your own domain (tu@el teudomini.com). You can switch to your own domain later in your account settings.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
Then enter your invitation code, email, password and date of birth.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
Finally, choose a user ID. You can change this later in your account settings.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
How to edit your Bluesky profile
Once you’ve completed setting up your account, you’ll want to visit and edit your profile before connecting with other people.
You can add a cover photo, a profile photo, a display name, and a 256-character description.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
Although there is no specific field for links to your website or other social profiles, you can place a link in the description.
How to post an update to Bluesky
Bluesky allows you to post 300 character updates with text, up to four images and links.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
Please note that all profiles and posts are public and the User Content you share is subject to Bluesky’s Terms of Service.
In the Terms of Service, Bluesky notes that when you share any content (such as text, images, or videos) on a platform or service provided by Bluesky, you grant Bluesky and its related companies the right to use and share that content.
Under these terms, Bluesky may use, copy, modify, distribute and display your content in various ways, including promoting Bluesky and its services through social media channels.
I will try to clarify here. First, Jack is one of 3 Bluesky board members and has no personal license to any content.
The term “user-generated content rights” allows us to do things like: use screenshots of user-generated content in the app store. pic.twitter.com/yp4SOgJfBS
— Jay Graber (@arcalinea) April 28, 2023
They can do it without paying. Furthermore, they will not use your content in any sponsored content without your permission.
How to create your Bluesky network
To find people to connect with, use the search to find posts and users with specific keywords.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
You can reply, repost and like other users’ posts. The three dots offer additional options, such as translating and sharing with other networks.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
Switch to the Users tab to find related accounts to follow.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
When you visit another user’s profile, you can follow them or use the three dots for more options, including one to add the user to a list.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
Bluesky Lists vs. Twitter lists
It is essential to note that Bluesky lists are not like Twitter lists.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
On Twitter, you add users to lists when you want to follow them more closely.
In Bluesky, add users to lists to mute their activity.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
When you create a Bluesky mute list, it will be visible on your profile. However, you can follow other users’ mute lists to privately ignore the same group of users.
In addition to public mute lists, you can access more ways to moderate the content you see on Bluesky in the Moderation section.
Here you can update your content filtering settings, mute an account or block an account.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
How to change your Bluesky domain or user handle
As mentioned, you can visit your account settings to change your user ID.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
You can also update your user ID to use your domain instead of @bsky.social.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023
The next step in decentralized social networks
Bluesky can present an approach to decentralized social networking that could mitigate many of the problems plaguing traditional social platforms today.
Bluesky seems dedicated to ushering in a new era of digital communication with the continued development of the AT Protocol.
With the problems it aims to solve and the open standard it aims to establish, Bluesky could be the model for the future of social networking. It remains to be seen how Bluesky performs when it comes out of beta.
Featured image: Tada Images/Shutterstock
