Ever since Elon Musk took over, Twitter has been in a state of turmoil. Their workforce has shrunk dramatically from almost 8,000 to just around 1,000, and with this reduction has come a rise in technical problems and system outages.

On top of that, as Twitter has begun to charge for certain features like the blue tick verification and API access, many users have started looking for other social media platforms to switch to. While some early adopters have turned to decentralized networks like Mastodon, it's Bluesky that's emerged as a serious contender for the crown of Twitter's successor.

But what is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a social media platform and micro-blogging site that's been built on the AT Protocol, or Authenticated Transport Protocol. Although it was founded by a team that includes former Twitter executives, it differs from Twitter in that it's designed to be part of a decentralized ecosystem. This means that users of apps built on the AT Protocol would be able to switch between different platforms without losing their followers, content, or data, thanks to a feature called account portability.

The app’s primary goal is to promote and develop the adoption of open and decentralized technologies for public conversations. They see themselves as being on a mission to create a platform that enables people to communicate freely and openly, without the need for centralized control or gatekeepers.

Bluesky's CEO is Jay Graber, a software engineer who has a strong background in cryptocurrency. Ms. Graber was handpicked by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to lead the Bluesky project when it launched back in 2019. Initially, the plan was for Twitter and Bluesky to work together and eventually connect, but they ended their service agreement last year.

Since then, Mr. Dorsey has acknowledged that Twitter made some mistakes in the way it handled certain debates around content moderation. This has prompted many to see Bluesky as a potential alternative that could offer a more open and decentralized approach to social media, especially for those who are disillusioned with Twitter's centralized control over content.

Can it replace Twitter?

Bluesky isn't quite ready for the big time yet. Right now, it's in private beta, which means that only a select group of people have been given invite codes to join. Even if you do manage to get an invite, you won't be able to invite just anyone else you want. Bluesky is being very careful about who they let in, and regular members are only given a limited number of invite codes to share with new applicants they trust.

The app recently announced that it had more than 50,000 users as of the end of April, but they're being very selective about who they allow to join to maintain the integrity of the platform. As a result, it's unlikely that Bluesky will be a direct replacement for Twitter anytime soon, as they continue to control the growth of their membership very carefully.

What are the challenges?

Many celebrities including James Gunn, Chrissy Teigen, Kumail Nanjiani, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who have started using Bluesky are finding that they get fewer "likes" and "shares" than they do on Twitter, since Bluesky has a smaller user base. However, Bluesky does have some features that Twitter doesn't, such as the ability for users to set their domains as their handle, which makes it easier to link their accounts across different ecosystems and verify their identity.

Bluesky is supposed to be a more decentralized platform, but for now, it's still being regulated by an official team and hosted on a single server, according to The Verge. The platform plans to use automated filtering, manual admin actions, and community labeling to moderate content. Users can add their own labels to posts based on their values, and other users can adopt these labels if they wish.

However, Bluesky has already encountered some challenges with content moderation. For example, when some users targeted a controversial Bluesky member's posts, they discovered that the block function was not yet available. Bluesky later added this feature, and they have also banned users who spread hate or bully others on the platform.

Bluesky Social: Everything You Need To Know About Twitter’s Potential Replacement