Could Bluesky be the decentralised future of social media or is it just another fleeting trend?

Elon Musk’s losses are other social media platforms’ gain. In case you are not aware, X (formerly Twitter) was banned in Brazil for refusing to comply with the country’s Supreme Court orders to remove the accounts of seven anti-government commentators. In April, the court ordered X to block accounts spreading false information and hate speech, but the platform refused, citing free speech. As a result, Brazil banned the platform in September 2024, instructed app stores to remove it, and warned users against accessing it via VPN.

The platform had 22 million users in the country, according to reports. The void was filled by X’s rival Bluesky, which saw a surge in user activity following the ban. Bluesky added 3 million users in the week following the ban, reflecting a 50% growth. The platform even briefly topped the iPhone 'Free' app charts in Brazil during this period. 

While almost a month later, X has agreed to adhere to the Brazilian government’s requests to censor certain accounts, it is going to cost the company $5 million in fines before it is reinstated. 

The thing is, Brazilians had several other platform options including Meta’s Threads and news app, O Trabalhador, yet Bluesky has received quite the attention this month. So what’s the hype about Bluesky? We decode.

The Origins of Bluesky

Bluesky’s roots can be traced back to Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of X. In 2019, as X faced growing criticisms around centralised control, Dorsey initiated Bluesky as a project aimed at building a decentralised social network. It wasn’t just a reaction to X’s struggles with content moderation and data privacy, it was meant to be a vision for a future where users had more control over their online identities and how their data was used. Essentially, it meant taking ownership of platforms out of the hands of private companies and into the control of users. 

However, it remained in the conceptual phase without a roadmap. It was in 2021 when the platform took a step forward. Dorsey helped establish it as an independent company, while X provided financial support. The platform's main goal was building the ‘Authenticated Transfer Protocol (AT Protocol)’, meant to form the backbone of Bluesky and other decentralised social media platforms. The protocol allows users to move between platforms while retaining control of their data and choosing their moderation standards.

While Dorsey remained involved with the project after stepping down as X’s CEO in November 2021, his involvement in the project helped it gain early interest in the tech community.

In 2022, Bluesky focused heavily on developing its AT Protocol and the project began to attract developers, decentralised web advocates, and users interested in breaking away from corporate-controlled platforms.

However, it was still known more within tech circles than among the general public. It was often compared to Mastodon, another decentralised social media platform, though the key difference was Bluesky’s focus on developing the protocol rather than creating a new social network.

In early 2023, the platform released its beta app, garnering public interest. The platform was invite-only at the time, generating buzz and curiosity among users seeking an alternative to traditional social media platforms. This was around the time when Elon Musk’s X was beginning to lose confidence among advertisers and users alike.  

With X undergoing changes under Musk’s leadership, many users started looking for alternatives, giving Bluesky more momentum. Both platforms have similarities, from the microblogging style interface to chronological posts (or ‘skeets’ as it is called on Bluesky). 

Bluesky's unique value proposition was the promise of decentralisation and user control. Instead of a single company controlling content moderation and algorithms, users could move across multiple social platforms using the same profile.

The platform reached two million users only in December 2023 which wasn’t a lot if we compare it to Meta’s Threads which launched in July 2023 as another competitor to X.  The latter recorded 100 million users within a few days of launching. 

While X’s feed is mixed with controversial content and fun videos one after another and Threads actively tries to avoid overly political content, Bluesky offers a balanced alternative - users get to choose the feed which best offers the information they are looking for.

By 2024, Bluesky started to gain traction as one of the key players in the decentralised social media movement, competing with Mastodon and other Web3 projects. The AT Protocol was refined, and the user base expanded beyond tech enthusiasts to include a broader audience. In February 2024, after nearly a year as an invitation-only app, Bluesky opened up to the public. The platform has an estimated 3 million users before opening its doors. 

Beyond the hype, what does Bluesky actually offer that makes it unique?

Decentralisation

Bluesky’s AT Protocol is an open-source framework which allows for autonomous moderation systems. This means that different communities can create their own rules and decide how content is labelled or filtered. Moreover, it allows users to own their content or data. This concept of decentralisation provides an alternative to the monopolistic control big tech companies have over our data and online interactions. But it also brings the challenge of managing misinformation and moderation inconsistencies. 

As of September 2024, Bluesky is working on several trust and safety tools to tackle harassment, spam, and fake accounts on its platform, including detecting when one user creates multiple accounts to harass others and flagging rude replies for moderation. The platform is also exploring country-specific content moderation to comply with local laws while maintaining free expression and is enhancing its video safety features, with plans to prioritise user feedback on potential issues.

One of the platform’s key selling points is its transparency around algorithms. Users have the option to see and even modify the algorithms that determine what content appears in their feeds, allowing them to prioritise content from friends, topics they care about, or unbiased news. 

While Bluesky has seen steady growth, scaling up remains a challenge. Decentralised platforms can be difficult to manage, particularly in terms of infrastructure, governance, and content moderation. As Bluesky continues to grow, it will need to address these scalability challenges without losing the core decentralised ethos that defines the platform.

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges in social media is generating revenue without compromising user privacy. Bluesky’s decentralised nature could limit its ability to implement traditional advertising models. While the platform already has more than 10 million users, how it plans to monetise and scale itself to match the likes of X and Threads remains to be seen. 

In August 2024, Bluesky saw a surge of new users from the U.K., following Musk’s controversial statements on the U.K. riots. The platform saw an increase in signups and a 60% jump in activity from the U.K.-based accounts. 

However, reports suggest that despite the influx of users, it is still Threads that could challenge X’s position in the U.K.

While Bluesky offers an alternative to X, it has a battle in gaining traction among mainstream users. While tech enthusiasts understand decentralisation, it could be confusing for an average user who wants a simple experience. 

Most social media users don’t necessarily care about decentralisation, their focus is on ease of use, entertaining content, and community engagement. For Bluesky to succeed, it needs to balance the concept with usability. 

In May 2024, Jack Dorsey stepped down from Bluesky's board. In an interview, Dorsey explained that he left because Bluesky was starting to resemble X by making the ‘same mistakes’, like forming a corporate structure with fundraising and a board. Dorsey wanted Bluesky to be a ‘truly decentralised, open-source protocol’, but it became more like a ‘traditional company’.

While the hype around Bluesky is understandable and the platform has the potential to disrupt traditional social networks by giving users back control, it needs to prove that decentralisation can work. Many reports suggest that the platform is far from replacing X or Meta’s social platforms, but it could potentially change the future of social media and online interactions if it stands true to its vision. 

Decode is a weekly series where we will be decoding what’s happening in the world of social media and technology.