Bluesky confirms Jack Dorsey left its board and says the public benefit company is searching for a new board member; Dorsey announced Bluesky in December 2019

It sounds like Bluesky's most prominent backer is no longer on its board. — On Saturday, Jack Dorsey posted on X about grants …

TechCrunch 2024-05-06 Anthony Ha

Context & Ripple Effects

Bluesky began as a decentralized social initiative announced by Dorsey, then became a public-benefit LLC with him on its board in its public-benefit governance structure. Jay Graber’s earlier appointment to lead the project had already separated day-to-day leadership from its original sponsor by putting Graber in charge.

Dorsey’s departure now removes the project’s most recognizable founding connection from formal oversight while Bluesky seeks a replacement director. Later coverage of his exit also places his attention on Nostr, sharpening the distinction between his priorities and Bluesky’s governance path as he shifted focus to Nostr.

First-order effects

Bluesky must fill a board seat, replacing a director closely associated with its 2019 launch and public identity.
Dorsey no longer has formal board-level influence over Bluesky’s public-benefit company governance.

Second-order effects

The incoming director becomes an immediate signal of whether Bluesky emphasizes continuity with its founding decentralization vision or a more independent governance identity.
Dorsey’s public attention shifting toward Nostr may reduce the extent to which observers treat Bluesky as the vehicle for his preferred approach to decentralized social networks.

Third-order effects

If decentralized social projects mature beyond founder-linked sponsorship, board composition will become a more visible test of who sets their mission and accountability.
The episode points to governance—not just protocol design—as a durable competitive distinction among decentralized social-network efforts.

The trend: Decentralized social platforms are moving from founder-associated experiments toward governance structures that must stand on their own.

Discussion

@crumbler Casey Newton on threads
All these reply guys who apparently saw this exact sequence of events coming, please post a list of your predictions somewhere so I can get ahead of tomorrow's news
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on threads
i used to look up to him but can't fathom why he's doing all these things. is there a mission/agenda? or is he burnt out / disgruntled and doing things out of whim? no hard feelings now that he unfollowed most people, including me.
@fredbenenson Fred Benenson on threads
Also worth nothing that Zuckerberg and the Threads team turned out to be a lot more trustworthy when it came to their promises of supporting decentralizatioin than Jack
@chris Chris Messina on threads
That's one way to neutralize all the haters who complain that Bluesky is just a Jack Dorsey production in disguise...
@moskov Dustin Moskovitz on threads
Ok hear me out on this - what if installing a new CEO at twitter was basically just the world's worst config change?
@kbode Karl Bode on threads
gosh dern it he was the singular solution I trusted to extend the light of consciousness to all humanity
@karaswisher Kara Swisher on threads
Entirely unsurprising
@goldman Jason Goldman on threads
Because he groused publicly (iirc) that they focused on the app and not the protocol and then he started looking at nostr. Just like he was getting pushed at Twitter bc the stock sucked so he worked w Elon to take over. An easy guess to say it's about feeling slighted. …
@goldman Jason Goldman on threads
I mean pettiness is a complete explanation
@crumbler Casey Newton on threads
Truly breaks my brain that Jack is still posting on the website his hand-picked successor destroyed while also abandoning the platform he created that actually achieved his dream of decentralized independence
@dathinkyparts @dathinkyparts on threads
His spiritual journey is focused on crypto.
@docpop@mastodon.social Doctor Popular on mastodon
Jack Dorsey referred to Twitter, the privately owned company that blocked links to competing social media platforms like Mastodon, as “freedom technology”. What a clown. — He also deleted his account on Bluesky announced he's no longer on Bluesky's board of directors. …
@o_simardcasanova … Olivier Simard-Casanova on mastodon
After deleting his #Bluesky account last year, Jack Dorsey has since reportedly left the board. — Honestly? Good riddance. — He never had any operational role in Bluesky. He was the one who pushed for Elon Musk to buy #Twitter, a truly successful move as we all know. …
@bsky.app @bsky.app on bluesky
We sincerely thank Jack for his help funding and initiating the bluesky project. Today, Bluesky is thriving as an open source social network running on atproto, the decentralized protocol we have built.
@bsky.app @bsky.app on bluesky
With Jack's departure, we are searching for a new board member for the Bluesky public benefit company who shares our commitment to building a social network that puts people in control of their experience. More to come!
@pogue.omg.lol @pogue.omg.lol on bluesky
Hmmm! How curious! [embedded post]
@evacide.bsky.social @evacide.bsky.social on bluesky
I can think of no greater endorsement for this platform than the fact that Jack Dorsey has left it and is no longer on the board of directors.
@o.simardcasanova.net Olivier Simard-Casanova on bluesky
After deleting his Bluesky account last year, Jack Dorsey has since reportedly left the board. — Honestly? Good riddance. — 1/2 [embedded post]
@dnas.is @dnas.is on bluesky
we're free [embedded post]
@billcorbett.bsky.social Bill Corbett on bluesky
Weird fact: I got my Bluesky invitation from Jack Dorsey. So I think that means legally, I'm now on the board (probably chairman)? [embedded post]
@thechillennial.bsky.social @thechillennial.bsky.social on bluesky
we'll have to wait for another tech bro with a cryptocurrency fetish to help run bluesky i guess
@autiomaa.org Daniel Schildt on bluesky
Official website is then outdated: — bsky.social/about/faq — “What is the corporate structure of Bluesky? — Bluesky, the company, is a Public Benefit Corporation. It is owned by Jay Graber and the Bluesky team. Jack Dorsey and Jeremie Miller serve on the board, along with…
@surfdude29.ispost.ing @surfdude29.ispost.ing on bluesky
Paul posted this back in February, so it seems like he left the board sometime between then and now [embedded post]
@jack @jack on x
@jglypt no
@jglypt Jack on x
@jack @jack you still on the bsky board?
@jglypt Jack on x
People are kinda going crazy on Bsky after they announced this (on their official account) I'm sorry I didn't mean any harm, I was just curious after noticing he deleted his account last year. Hope you all understand 🙂 [image]
r/technology r on reddit
Jack Dorsey departs Bluesky board

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