Bluesky Explodes. X Declines

Let the people's movement begin.

Four days ago, Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform designed to give users greater control over their online experiences, had 15 million users. Now, it has more than 18 million. I took the following screenshot when I began writing this story.

I will take another screenshot by the time I’m ready to hit the publish button. This feels like a brutal yet effective backlash against two billionaires dominating our social media landscape. One is so focused on profit that he is willing to host any type of conspiracy theorist and make them feel at home, simply to prevent them from leaving for another platform. The other has grown so bored of running businesses that he is using an entire platform to amplify his own propaganda.

Musk’s arc has been breathtakingly striking: from claiming neutrality in the political space to endorsing a specific candidate, spreading conspiracy theories, and even resorting to name-calling global leaders. With each accumulation of political power, Elon Musk removes yet another mask.

A recent study by Australian professors revealed that Musk tweaked X’s algorithm to boost the visibility of his own tweets. He’s reshaping the media landscape and leveraging it to pressure political leaders around the world.

It’s very interesting that Mr. Musk’s endorsement of Trump didn’t come until J.D. Vance—groomed by Musk’s billionaire ally Peter Thiel—became the vice-presidential pick.

Who’s controlling whom?

As his political power grows, Elon Musk continues to expand his influence. Now, he wants to end the Federal Reserve and exert sway over Germany and people around the world. His Twitter megaphone lies at the heart of this influence campaign.

That’s not to say people haven’t noticed what’s happening. Somewhere along the line, they must have realized that Twitter is no longer a platform they can trust. The migration to Bluesky has been underway for some time, but it gained momentum just before the U.S. elections and then surged dramatically in the past week.

What are the advantages of Bluesky?

It places a significant amount of control in users' hands.

1. Decentralized: Bluesky operates on a federated model, allowing users to join different servers or "instances" while still being part of a broader network. Each server, or community, can set its own moderation policies. This means you don’t have to interact with Holocaust deniers or billionaire propagandists. The platform cannot impose its ideas on you.

2. The Authenticated Transfer Protocol (AT Protocol) enables users to select or create unique algorithms to determine what content appears in their feed.

3. According to Bluesky, “The AT Protocol essentially lets people move between cities. Creating a standard format for identity and data is like giving people a passport, cell phone, and property rights. If you don’t like the city you first moved to, you can relocate and take all your belongings (data) with you. Your friends will still be able to find and stay in touch with you at the same name and number (identity & follow graph)”.

It essentially gives users far more control over shaping their own experience. A cesspool can remain a cesspool, while a good pool stays a good pool—you get to make the choice, rather than relying on the platform to make it for you.

Freedom.

While I can’t be certain, I strongly believe that much of the growth Bluesky has seen in the past two months comes from American users migrating from Musk’s X—or Twitter, or whatever you prefer to call it.

For obvious reasons, Elon Musk will never release data on the American user base. However, thanks to EU regulations, X is required to provide regular updates on its European user base. In the first six months of 2024, the platform reported a 5% decline in the EU.

X isn’t growing; it’s declining.
Bluesky, on the other hand, is exploding.

The network effect will likely accelerate this trend, and we could see a clear bifurcation of the American user base between Bluesky and X. You can probably guess what kind of users X will continue to attract over time if this trend intensifies.

My only concern is that Bluesky urgently needs to figure out how to manage its finances. The platform’s explosive growth will inevitably drive expenses much higher, and this increase will likely continue. While Bluesky has raised funds from venture capitalists, they may need to introduce subscription services or adopt advertising to sustain themselves.

Go ahead and launch that subscription service Bluesky. I will surely take one.

They need to act—and act quickly. Circumstances have led people to place their trust in Bluesky. Now it’s Bluesky’s turn to live up to that trust.

Bluesky is adding users by the second.