Are you interested in a new social media platform designed to compete with Twitter?
Bluesky is a decentralized social network led by CEO Jay Graber, with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on its board.
What is blue sky?
In December 2019, Dorsey announced in a series of tweets that Twitter would fund a small independent team of up to five people to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media.
The goal is to make Twitter one day a customer of the standard.
Dorsey highlighted several factors driving the move:
- Challenges posed by centralized control include difficulties in global policy enforcement to address abuse and misinformation.
- The value of social media shifts from content hosting and removal to recommendation algorithms. These are currently often proprietary algorithms that draw attention to users. Dorsey wants Bluesky to allow alternatives to be built.
- Existing incentives in social media tend to draw attention to controversial and outrageous content rather than fostering informative and healthy conversations.
- Recent technological advancements, such as blockchain, have made decentralized solutions more viable. These solutions could lead to open and durable custody, governance and monetization.
we call this team @blue sky. Our Chief Technology Officer @ParagA A leader will be found at the run point, who will then hire and mentor the rest of the team.Please follow or private message @blue sky If you're interested in learning more or joining! 🌐💬💙
— Jack (@jack) December 11, 2019
blue sky Strive to make social networking function like email, blogs, or phone numbers as open systems that facilitate online interactions.
Bluesky developers created protocol,finish quickly. The AT protocol aims to make modern social media and online public conversation more akin to the early Internet days, when anyone could create a blog or follow multiple blogs using RSS.
The Bluesky application demonstrates the functionality of the protocol.
Bluesky hopes this will lead to new advances in social media that will allow researchers and the community to address issues social networks are currently facing, as Dorsey tweeted.
The social media problem Bluesky hopes to solve
Most traditional social networks are closed platforms controlled by a central authority that regulates user and developer permissions.
If users decide to leave traditional social networks, they have to start over, losing connections and content. For developers, creating a new application requires overcoming network effects and rebuilding the social graph from the ground up.
Also, if they try to build with these companies' APIs, they run the risk of being shut down abruptly.
Likewise, content creators could lose their audiences if platforms change the rules.
The AT Protocol aims to change this and provide a more open, democratic and innovative environment for users, developers and content creators.
How to get blue sky invitation code
There are several ways to get an invitation to Bluesky.
You can sign up for the waitlist and wait for an invitation to join blue sky.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023You can ask friends on other social networks for invitations.
you can search blue sky invitation code on twitter. See the latest results and reply quickly to get an invite. (This is what worked for me.)
Twitter screenshot, May 2023You can even buy Bluesky invitation codes on eBay.
Screenshot from eBay, May 2023How to create your Bluesky account
Once you have your invitation code, you can create your account on the website or Bluesky app app Store or google play.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023You can choose the default Bluesky server (you@bsky.social) or follow these directions Use your own domain (you@yourdomain.com). You can change to your own domain later in your account settings.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023Next, enter your invite code, email, password, and birthday.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023Finally, choose a user handle. You can change this later in your account settings.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023How to edit your Bluesky profile
Once you've finished setting up your account, you'll need to visit your profile and edit it before connecting with others.
You can add a cover photo, profile photo, display name, and a 256-character description.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023While there's no specific field for a link to your website or other social profile, you can place a link in the description.
How to publish updates on Bluesky
Bluesky allows you to post updates of 300 characters including text, up to four images and a link.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023Please note that all profiles and posts are public and User Content you share is protected by Bluesky Terms of Service.
In these Terms of Service, Bluesky states that when you share any content (such as text, images, or video) on a platform or service provided by Bluesky, you grant Bluesky and its related companies the right to use and share that content.
Subject to these terms, Bluesky may use, reproduce, modify, distribute and display Your Content in various ways, including promoting Bluesky and its services through social media channels.
I'll try to clarify here. First off, Jack is one of Bluesky's 3 board members and doesn't have a personal license to any content.
The phrase “right to user-generated content” allows us to do things like – use screenshots of user-generated content in the app store. pic.twitter.com/yp4SOgJfBS
— Jay Graber (@arcalinea) April 28, 2023
They can do this without paying you. On the plus side, they won't use your content in any sponsored content without your permission.
How to Build Your Blue Sky Network
To find someone to connect with, use search to find posts and users with specific keywords.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023You can reply, retweet and like other users' posts. Three Points offers additional options, including translation and sharing with other networks.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023Switch to the Users tab to find related accounts to follow.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023When you visit another user's profile, you can follow them or use the three dots to find more options, including an option to add the user to a list.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023Bluesky list with .twitter list
It's important to note that Bluesky lists are not the same as Twitter lists.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023On Twitter, you add users to lists when you want to follow them more closely.
On Bluesky, you can add users to a list to mute their activity.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023When you create a Bluesky mute list it will be visible on your profile. However, you can follow other users' mute lists to privately ignore the same group of users.
In addition to the public mute list, there are many more ways you can moderate what you see on Bluesky in the Moderation section.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023Here you can update your content filtering settings, mute accounts, or block accounts.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023my dynamic
My feed allows users to Create custom algorithms Used to display content.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023Created by the Bluesky team, this feed shows updates from people you follow and people they like.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023How to change your Bluesky user handle or domain
As previously mentioned, you can change your username by visiting your account settings.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023You can also update your user handle to use your domain instead of @bsky.social.
Screenshot from Bluesky, May 2023The next step for decentralized social media
Bluesky could suggest a way to decentralize social media that could alleviate many of the problems that plague traditional social platforms today.
Bluesky seems to be committed to ushering in a new era of digital communication through the continued development of the AT protocol.
With the problems it aims to solve and the open standards it seeks to establish, Bluesky could be the blueprint for the future of social media. It remains to be seen how Bluesky will perform after the beta ends.
Featured Image: Tada Images/Shutterstock
