Bluesky, which has 55K+ users, feels absolutely wild, with the CEO asking users to stop calling posts “skeets”, a struggle to establish norms, and lots of nudes
and hundreds—of thousands for invites to Bluesky is that a comprehensive report about it from someone who has spent time there has not yet been issued. That changes right now. @samthenightowl : a fun fact about the block feature on blue sky is that your blocks will be public. everyone's will be. we will know who is blocking who lmao https://twitter.com/... Matt Navarra / @mattnavarra : Bluesky looks set to become the new home for tech / news / media twitter folks Merritt K / @merrittk : Very funny that rightoids are crying they can't get on Bluesky or are being banned. Kind of gives away the game of their whole deal being wanting to be around people who don't want to be around them Karl / @brainnotonyet : Blue sky is bringing out the best in the politicians and reporters who are there. https://twitter.com/... James Vincent / @jjvincent : it's a pleasing coincidence that bluesky exploded around May 1st because the posting energy is definitely one of may day revels and frolics https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/... Corinne Podger / @corinne_podger : Hearing stories about BlueSky invites being sold on Ebay for big sums. I'm on the app and honestly, all you need to know rn is that it's similar to Twitter. This from @verge kinda sums up early-adopter chaos. Save your pennies & get on it when it opens up https://www.theverge.com/... Dr. Angela Rasmussen / @angie_rasmussen : I have to agree: bumbling along with Bluesky's growing pains right now is infinitely more fun than the death throes of Twitter https://twitter.com/... @jordanuhl : It's a good app. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... John Scalzi / @scalzi : I'm over there. It's chaos. The fun kind, not like here. And no, I don't have any invites. https://www.theverge.com/... Morgan Sung / @morgan_sung : wrote about bluesky, black twitter, & sex work if bluesky is the next twitter, it needs to be better than twitter - and safer for the marginalized communities that are shaping the platform's culture (also got the line “tiddies on the skyline” published) https://techcrunch.com/...
The VergeSarah Jeong
Context & Ripple Effects
Bluesky’s earlier early preview emphasized a familiar, simpler Twitter-like experience. This report shows that product familiarity does not settle the harder question of what conduct and culture a new network will permit.
The service is attracting tech, news, and media users while access remains scarce enough to create an invite market. That makes early community norms unusually consequential: a small group is defining expectations for later arrivals.
First-order effects
Bluesky’s leadership must clarify moderation and community expectations as users test the platform’s boundaries around language, nudity, and blocking.
Early users face a less predictable social environment, while prospective users confront constrained access and an informal market for invites.
Second-order effects
A network drawing users from Twitter must compete not just on a familiar feed, but on whether its safety and moderation practices feel more credible to communities deciding where to participate.
Publicly visible blocks and unclear norms can make moderation choices part of the product experience, increasing pressure to explain how safety tools work.
Third-order effects
The episode points to social-network migration as a governance challenge as much as a product opportunity: early cultural choices can become durable expectations as a community scales.
If federated networks continue to grow, the tension between decentralized design and consistent protection for marginalized users is likely to become a defining operating question, as later moderation-policy friction illustrates.
The trend: Bluesky is an early example of users seeking alternatives to established social platforms while demanding clearer, safer rules from the networks they join.
I really want Mastodon to be the next big thing, but it frankly has a culture problem that is going to kill its broader adoption. After quite a long time here, and a few days at Bluesky, the comparative experience looks like this …
IMO what Elon doesn't get is that many of the world's most powerful and influential people are on here, not to “monetize” their followings, but simply they just want to POAST. Feel that strongly here. This is not about like AUM accumulation or whatevs. It's about torching Icahn. …
Wild how twitter blue prioritization has completely changed how I interact with the site. I don't even bother scrolling through replies anymore. QTs are better because they have no prioritization. As soon as Bluesky goes public and fixes video, I'm out.
it's official, adult content will be reach-limited/deboosted. bluesky strangled itself in the crib. porn creators are drivers of growth, and you just showed them your platform is hostile to their interests. https://twitter.com/...
Blue Sky/ Twitter feels very America privileged people excited that they can flee to safety provided by access With most of the information and content coming from where they are fleeing And a solid chunk of us in the middle getting increasingly nervous/ resigned
I have said for years the only thing you really own on the internet is a domain name, and if you can maintain the discipline and financials, you need to center your identity on it. BlueSky makes it very clear DNS is a critical arbiter. Buy your domain. Preferably .com if you can.
BlueSky is sooo much nicer. This is how a platform should be run! Decent. Please all join when the opportunity arises. It's identical to Twitter bar Elton Moose and the people he attracts. As soon as I get some invites (or ‘lifeboats’ as they're being called) will share 👍🌟 https:…
TL;DR - Bluesky is an *incomplete* beta. It's fun, and the community is great, but the company has a HUGE amount of important (and difficult) work to do before they can be a viable global competitor to Twitter. By the time they're ready, the hype may have died off.
Ringleader AOC is now openly encouraging harassment of Conservatives on Bluesky “From the research, there's no evidence of that.” The Ruby Files show that this statement is false. https://twitter.com/...
I also think this is why you actually see some prominent people spending time on Bluesky, despite having a fraction of their followings here. Just typing out a post and hitting send is like 90% of the value that the real-heads really get out of it. Even if hardly anyone sees.
Bluesky is so funny because it's all insane shitposters then you'll get a tech guy like this who accidentally stumbles in and the collision is hilarious https://twitter.com/...
So basically even if you are specifically online to find sexy people or topics, now bluesky completely blocks them from the “for you” tab? That is.. worse than Twitter.. right? Censorship-wise
1/ I think that one of the main reasons Bluesky keeps trending here and people keep looking by the tens—and hundreds—of thousands for invites to Bluesky is that a comprehensive report about it from someone who has spent time there has not yet been issued. That changes right now.
a fun fact about the block feature on blue sky is that your blocks will be public. everyone's will be. we will know who is blocking who lmao https://twitter.com/...
Very funny that rightoids are crying they can't get on Bluesky or are being banned. Kind of gives away the game of their whole deal being wanting to be around people who don't want to be around them
it's a pleasing coincidence that bluesky exploded around May 1st because the posting energy is definitely one of may day revels and frolics https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Hearing stories about BlueSky invites being sold on Ebay for big sums. I'm on the app and honestly, all you need to know rn is that it's similar to Twitter. This from @verge kinda sums up early-adopter chaos. Save your pennies & get on it when it opens up https://www.theverge.com…
wrote about bluesky, black twitter, & sex work if bluesky is the next twitter, it needs to be better than twitter - and safer for the marginalized communities that are shaping the platform's culture (also got the line “tiddies on the skyline” published) https://techcrunch.com/...