Bluesky boom: Users flee Elon Musk’s chaotic X

Did Jack Dorsey, the self-taught programming genius, just pull the rug out from under Elon Musk, who spent $44 billion to buy, and then overhaul Twitter into X?

Dorsey (net worth: $5.1 billion), is behind disruptive companies, including Twitter and digital payments platform Square (renamed "Block").

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Now, as the “free speech” vision of Elon Musk (net worth: $300.9 billion) faces mounting chaos, a new challenger emerges: Bluesky, another of Dorsey's brainchild.

This platform, directly challenging X, offers a fresh take on social media.

In a world where misinformation and disinformation increasingly spreads like wildfire and echo chambers amplify falsehoods, the line between fact and fiction grows ever more blurred.

Where does Bluesky fit in? Here's what you need to know:

It is a text-based social media platform similar to X (formerly known as Twitter), which has seen a surge in membership this week.

Bluesky says it has 17 million users worldwide (as of November 17, 2024), up from 9 million in September.

On reason is cost: Bluesky is free; X charges a premium, and regular accounts are swamped with ads.

The other reason is social cost: Many, including celebrities and news organisations, cite their discontent over the “toxic” environment on X, as the reason for their shift to Bluesky.

The departures grew following former President Donald Trump’s election win. Trump recruited Musk, CEO of Tesla, Space X and X, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Bluesky recently gained traction in Brazil after X faced bans, adding millions of users in response to the demand for decentralised options.

The Bluesky Social, PBC was founded in Wilmington, Delaware on October 4, 2021. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

The platform was conceived and funded by Twitter under its former CEO, Jack Dorsey. It is now mostly owned by CEO Jay Graber, a software engineer, appointed to this role in August 2021.

Bluesky was originally a research project initiated by Dorsey in 2019 to explore the "decentralisation" of Twitter. It became an independent company in 2021 and launched to the public in a beta phase in 2023.

In general, it offers features similar to X. Bluesky users can:

While Twitter/X prioritises subscriptions (e.g., X Premium) and advertising, Bluesky remains free and experimental, with monetisation strategies avoiding heavy reliance on advertising.

Despite criticism, Twitter/X retains a large audience, thanks to its first-mover advantage, established brand and Musk’s efforts to diversify content offerings (e.g., video and payments).

Bluesky, conceptualised in 2019 within Twitter during Dorsey's tenure as CEO, represents a step toward a decentralised social media ecosystem. Unlike traditional platforms, it gives users more control over their online experiences, something Dorsey has been vigorously pushing for.

Bluesky officially became independent in 2022.

One report states that the X competitor has attracted over three million followers since the US presidential election. The company stated it doesn't train generative AI models on user data.

Bluesky clarified its stance on AI and user privacy in a follow-up post. It confirmed that AI assists with tasks like content moderation and shaping the Discover algorithmic feed but emphasised, "None of these are Gen AI systems trained on user content."

Addressing privacy concerns, the platform assured users: “We do not use any of your content to train generative AI, and have no intention of doing so.” Bluesky aims to differentiate itself from rivals by maintaining a strict policy against using user posts for AI training.

In general, Bluesky's decentralised platform allows users to create their own servers, store data, and set rules independently, rather than relying on company-owned servers.

Key features:

This is a collaborative (open-source) moderation tool on Bluesky that helps users moderate communities on the platform.

In general, it is designed to give users greater control over their social media experience:

Bluesky has gained over 1.5 million new users in the past week, according to company spokesperson Emily Liu. The increase in signups followed Trump’s election victory and Musk's rise as a key ally to Trump.

Despite the growth, Bluesky still has a much smaller user base than X. Bluesky currently has about 14.5 million total users, whereas X reported around 250 million daily active users as of March.

As of 2024, X has approximately 250 million daily users. X said in a post this year that 250 million people use the platform every day globally.

Prior to its acquisition by Musk in 2022, Twitter reported it had 401 million monthly active users. According to the company then, 76.9 million of Twitter’s monthly active users reside in the US.

Several high-profile accounts have left X for Bluesky. The Guardian announced it would cease operations on X, citing concerns about the platform’s promotion of far-right conspiracy theories and racism.

Celebrities like journalist Don Lemon and actress Jamie Lee Curtis have also announced their departure. Others, including Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, Gigi Hadid, and Shonda Rhimes, had already left when Musk took over in 2022.

Jack Dorsey, 47, was the co-founder and ex-CEO of Twitter (now X), and Bluesky.

Dorsey, like Musk, is a self-taught programmer and an open-source advocate. He attended Bishop DuBourg High School, the University of Missouri–Rolla, and New York University. He dropped out of NYU in 1999, one semester short of graduating, to focus on his idea for Twitter.

While he no longer serves on Bluesky's board as of 2024, his vision for a decentralised internet continues to shape the platform’s trajectory. Dorsey believes most of the best programmers are self taught.

From Twitter to Bluesky: Dorsey initially supported the development of Bluesky during his Twitter leadership. After leaving Twitter in 2021, Dorsey’s continued advocacy for decentralisation aligned him closely with Bluesky’s mission.

Criticism of Twitter/X: Dorsey has expressed disapproval of certain decisions made by Elon Musk after his acquisition of Twitter. Dorsey’s vision contrasts Musk’s centralised control, advertising, paywalled content, and tiered user fees revenue model, and a free-wheeling content moderation policies.

Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, many users have raised concerns over loose content moderation, a spike in misinformation and disinformation, and the return of previously banned accounts. Bluesky offers users more control over moderation standards, which appeals to those disillusioned with X’s approach.

Dorsey, who learnt the open-source Linux programming language on his own, is a stickler for privacy. Among the noble ideals he has espoused is end-user control and open-source protocols. But he admits this has been corrupted by internet mega-corporations and the realities of needing to survive in a competitive marketplace.

At a forum in Norway in June, Dorsey warned that social media algorithms are draining people of their “free will”.

“We are being programmed,” Dorsey warned, doubling down on his worries that people are becoming far too dependent on social media algorithms to shape how they think and act.

“We are being programmed based on what we say we’re interested in, and we’re told through these discovery mechanisms what is interesting—and as we engage and interact with this content, the algorithm continues to build more and more of this bias.”

Jay Graber is an American software engineer and the CEO of Bluesky, a decentralised social media platform that was conceived by Jack Dorsey.

Born in 1991 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she was raised by a Chinese mother and a Swiss father, which influenced her multicultural background. Graber's given name, Lantian, meaning "blue sky" in Mandarin, reflects her mother's hope for her to have "boundless freedom."

In 2021, Graber was appointed the first CEO of Bluesky. Under her leadership, Bluesky has become a strong alternative to traditional social media platforms like Twitter, especially in light of the challenges posed by Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

Graber’s focus with Bluesky is on creating a platform that gives users control over their own data and offers decentralised solutions for social media​.