The recent buzz around the microblogging platform Bluesky—ironically founded by Twitter’s former creator, Jack Dorsey, who exited the venture last May—positions this social media platform as a legitimate competitor to X. After the lukewarm results of Mastodon, Threads, and other “decentralized” platforms with similar ambitions, one might wonder if this is another fleeting trend. We spoke with Francis Jette, a digital content creation consultant and Isarta trainer, to get his take.
Bluesky was launched three years ago, in 2021, by Twitter’s founder, Jack Dorsey. Since Trump’s election, there’s been a mass exodus of the media class from Elon Musk’s X to Bluesky. What do you make of this “new” social media platform that’s now in the spotlight
Francis Jette: My initial reaction is caution. In the past, we’ve seen plenty of social networks enjoy waves of popularity only to fade away quickly. Think of BeReal or, more recently, Threads, which saw a massive influx of users at launch but ultimately struggled with user retention.
What differences do you see between Bluesky and Threads, which is also a microblogging site?
F.J.: The presence of journalists on Bluesky is, I think, the key difference compared to Threads. On Threads, owned by Meta, the message was clear: they didn’t want journalists—they wanted content creators.
Now we need to see what influential individuals, content creators, and public figures will do. Will they adopt Bluesky, stay on Twitter, or gravitate toward Threads? We don’t know yet.
Bluesky claims to offer a more respectful and less toxic dialogue space than Twitter. Can you elaborate on this
F.J.: Bluesky is a decentralized platform, which means users have more control over their accounts and digital identity.
It also offers highly advanced moderation options to manage keywords you want—or don’t want—to see. That’s incredibly appealing. However, the general public already struggled to grasp Twitter, which was relatively simple. Practically speaking, I’m not sure how widely these features will be adopted by users.
In the U.S., social media platforms are currently polarized—Facebook and YouTube are perceived as left-leaning, while X is seen as right-leaning. Where does Bluesky fit in? Is it the new gathering place for the left?
F.J.: During the elections, Threads was criticized for spreading a lot of left-wing misinformation, while Twitter was accused of amplifying right-wing misinformation. So, it will be interesting to see whether Bluesky can strike a balance between left and right or if it will become another echo chamber for the left.
What about brand adoption on Bluesky?
F.J.: When Threads launched, many brands quickly adopted the platform, likely because it was tied to the credibility of Instagram and Meta. So far, we haven’t seen many brands establish a presence on Bluesky.
Of course, we know that major brands are generally more hesitant to change or adapt their social media strategies. They’ll need time to figure out how to make use of the platform. Watching Bluesky’s evolution will be very interesting!
