Bluesky, a decentralized alternative previously linked with Jack Dorsey, is rapidly bridging the gap with Threads at an incredible pace. The online version of Bluesky already overtook Threads in terms of total usage weeks back, but now the Bluesky app has skyrocketed, boasting 3.5 million daily active users. This puts it at a striking distance from Meta’s Threads, a remarkable accomplishment considering that Threads had five times the active users Bluesky had at the month’s beginning.
Related Read: The Rise of Bluesky: Why People are Migrating from Twitter
The shift in momentum has been nothing less than monumental, particularly following the November 5 election. As per data from Similarweb quoted by the Financial Times, Bluesky’s user base has swelled by 300 percent post-Election Day. Users consisting of journalists, academics, and corporations are leaving Elon Musk’s tumultuous X (formerly known as Twitter) in large numbers, and Bluesky is rapidly emerging as their preferred platform.
So, why are users preferring Bluesky over Threads? Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to de-emphasize political content on Threads seems to have alienated many users looking for a dynamic public conversation. Critics perceive it as an effort to curry favor with the then-President-elect Donald Trump, thereby stifling the platform’s potential as a hub for political and cultural discourse.
Bluesky has swiftly become a favored platform for what commentator Max Read dubs the “Politically Engaged Email Job Blob,”—the group that played a crucial role in morphing the early Twitter into the cultural powerhouse it once was.
Despite the rapid growth, Bluesky is still in its developmental stages. The surge in popularity has led to its fair share of challenges such as technical glitches, outages, and scams. As the user base continues to grow for this new “Twitter substitute,” we should brace ourselves for some unavoidable teething troubles.
The rising popularity and potential of Bluesky could be of interest to those keen on investing or staying updated with tech trends. However, the primary focus is to shed light on the shifting dynamics in the social media landscape.
