Bluesky, A Jack Dorsey Backed Decentralized Social Project Is Open to Public

Bluesky, a decentralized social application backed by Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, has officially launched for public use. This micro-blogging platform aims to establish itself as an alternative to X, previously known as Twitter and now owned by Elon Musk.

Bluesky Faces Challenge in Social Media Landscape

As the decentralized social media platform Bluesky opens its doors to the public, it grapples with the daunting task of carving out its niche in a crowded market dominated by giants like Twitter and Mastodon.

Despite amassing approximately 3 million sign-ups during its pre-launch phase, Bluesky now confronts the formidable competition posed by established platforms like Threads, boasting 130 million monthly active users, and Mastodon, with 1.8 million users.

While Bluesky bears a striking resemblance to Twitter in terms of its interface and functionality, its uniqueness lies in its underlying infrastructure. Originating as an internal project within Twitter, Bluesky aims to establish a decentralized ecosystem known as the AT Protocol for social networking.

One key feature that sets Bluesky apart is its commitment to open-source development. With its code freely accessible to the public, outside developers gain unprecedented transparency into the platform’s architecture and ongoing development efforts.

This openness enables developers to innovate on top of the AT Protocol, ranging from custom algorithms to entirely new social media platforms. Speaking to TechCruch on the development, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber said:

“What decentralization gets you is the ability to try multiple things in parallel, and so you’re not bottlenecking change on one organization. The way we built Bluesky actually lets anyone insert a change into the product.”

Addressing Competition in the Decentralized Social Media Market

Bluesky offers users more control over their social media experience compared to centralized platforms like Instagram. Mastodon, an open-source decentralized network existing since 2016, faces challenges due to its complex onboarding process and technical jargon. In contrast, Bluesky prioritizes user experience while also focusing on technical advancements.

They plan to introduce an experimental version of open federation, allowing developers to create separate servers similar to Mastodon’s instances. Users can choose their server and switch without losing data. Additionally, Bluesky will enable users to create their content moderation services, enhancing customization.

However, concerns arise regarding the potential misuse of moderation services or servers. Bluesky aims to address this by limiting exposure to harmful content and minimizing discoverability. These challenges reflect broader issues faced by decentralized platforms.