Bluesky CEO Jay Graber says it is not “necessarily true” that Bluesky will always be ad-free; ads could be “user intent-driven”, like running in search results
More thoughts on what Bluesky's ultimate business model could look like … Dave Forde / Profectio : Ads ‘Might’ Be Coming to Bluesky, According To CEO Charlesarthur / The Overspill : Start Up No.2349: why generative AI isn't a search engine, bitcoin hits new high, has the UK hit peak petrol?, and more USA Today : Social media platform Bluesky nearing 25 million users in continued post-election growth Bluesky: Ian Fraser / @ianfraser : The biggest question hanging over Bluesky: how is it going to make any money? — Bluesky CEO @jaygraber01.bsky.social interviewed by @techcrunch.com Cal Kristoff / @calkristo : I mean, I don't know what they would do otherwise to make money besides charging a monthly fee...and I'm sure as hell not paying a monthly fee to use a social media site. John Battelle / @battellemedia.com : It's impossible to avoid advertising at any large scale consumer application company fueled by traditional VC financing. And that would be all of them. — techcrunch.com/2024/12/05/b... Wessel van Rensburg / @wildebees : It would frankly not make sense not to have ads. Unless you want a far smaller service, that has differential pricing depending on the country, or universal pricing that price out many in developing countries. [embedded post] Martin Fehrensen / @martinfehrensen.de : And so it begins: „When asked if Bluesky would always be free of advertisers like it is today, Graber said: “I don't think that's necessarily true.” — techcrunch.com/2024/12/05/b... George Hahn / @georgehahn.com : I come to Bluesky to find out what happened 3 minutes ago. I go to a Meta platform to find out what happened 3 days ago. @americanfietser.com : I fully anticipate ads on this site and I think I'm ok with that. 🤔 — techcrunch.com/2024/12/05/b... Joe Hrdina / @hrdcpy : And, unlike Meta/Google, they should ensure their ads are of a certain standard to prevent users from being targets of scams and propaganda. @eastcoastcyclist : Gotta make a profit somehow. Rodney B. / @awehecknah : Provided the companies they allow to advertise on the platform aren't; MAGA, Right-Wing, BS “Healthcare” Companies, etc.- FINE! Let them generate revenue to keep improving this platform and making it great. Ray Bray / @gibbers : Weirdly not bothered by this. Advertising, not subscriptions, were the lifeblood of print media for decades and arguably the best way we could democratize the internet is through an ad-service that puts users/content creators first. — Question remains how BlueSky would approach this imo. … @theonlyjdb : 😢 obvious, but sad. Damn [embedded post] Max Zeff / @mzeff : NEW: I spoke to Bluesky CEO Jay Graber yesterday, and she's not ruling out having ads on this platform someday. While it likely won't ever be “enshittified” with ads like X or Instagram, ads may one day be part of Bluesky's business. — techcrunch.com/2024/12/05/b... @culturecrave.co : #Bluesky CEO Jay Graber won't rule out ads coming to the platform — When asked if Bluesky will always be ad-free, she said 'I don't think that's necessarily true' — (via Tech Crunch) [image] Claes de Vreese / @claesdevreese : I think ads might be inevitable for 🦋 unless foundations and investors want to keep the current space. — If ads do come, broad non-profiled, non-data driven ads should be considered #commsky — techcrunch.com/2024/12/05/b... Mastodon: @creckling@mstdn.social : @Techmeme You have to ask why people are choosing Bluesky over Mastodon. The onboarding for Bluesky was easy, mastodon made me think. Robert W. Gehl / @rwg@aoir.social : “Traditional social media companies like Facebook and Instagram have been successful because they can lock in users and control the entire experience. But Bluesky is designed to give users control and power, something that makes monetization less straightforward.” … @vosje62@mastodon.nl : @annekekassteele so there are no guarantees at all. Just the usual ‘the service as it is right now, without any rights over the future’. — (Just as any commercial service) — @Techmeme — #Bluesky #JayGraber Stony Kark / @aapis@mastodon.world : @Techmeme you'd have to have a brain riddled with tetraethyl lead to believe they wouldn't have ads eventually @bitsUndBaeumeAuxMuc@augsburg.social : @Techmeme — Enshitification ahead, there we go... @bazkie@beige.party : @Techmeme THERE IT IS!! — people deserve it lol. — JUST STAY ON THE FEDI :fedi: Forums: r/technews : Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is reshaping social media, but advertising isn't off the table r/BlueskySocial : Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is reshaping social media, but advertising isn't off the table | TechCrunch See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Bluesky had already paired rapid user growth and a $15M Series A with plans for paid features in its earlier subscription-focused funding plan. The later Bluesky+ mockups show that subscriptions were becoming a concrete part of that mix; Graber's comments broaden the revenue conversation to include search-like advertising.
The timing also matters competitively: Threads was testing more control over users' default feeds amid pressure from Bluesky to improve feed choice. Bluesky is now signaling that differentiation from larger social platforms need not mean ruling out all ad formats.
First-order effects
- Bluesky can test the user reaction to a monetization model that places ads around expressed search intent rather than committing to broadly targeted feed advertising.
- Advertisers would gain a potential future placement tied to active discovery on Bluesky, but the comments describe an option, not an announced ad product or launch.
Second-order effects
- A combined subscription-and-intent-ad approach would make Bluesky's revenue mix less dependent on paid upgrades alone, following its Bluesky+ subscription mockups.
- Rival social networks competing on feed control and user experience may face sharper comparisons over where ads appear and how closely they track user behavior.
Third-order effects
- If implemented, intent-based placements could push emerging social platforms toward monetizing search and discovery surfaces while preserving less commercial main feeds.
- The durable competitive question shifts from whether a platform carries ads to which user surfaces can support them without undermining the user trust that helped fuel switching.
The trend: Social platforms are exploring hybrid monetization models that separate paid features and high-intent commercial surfaces from the core social feed.