Author: January Barnes
In case you haven't heard yet. There is a new social media company on the internet block, Bluesky and despite at first site it having a lot of the old copy paste features of social media there is an upside or as CEO Jay Graber describes in a recent interview in March with The Verge, the companies mission is:
"to build something that's actually a better social ecosystem for people."
Officially launched in February 2023, the once microblogging platform Bluesky, has now surpassed 24 million users.
So what exactly distinguishes Blue Sky from it's comeptitors you might ask, well in a recent interview with Wired magazine Graber explained:
"Bluesky is focused on user choice, developers the freedom to build, and creators the ability to own their relationship with their audience. We do that by building it on an open network. You can customise your feed, you can control what you see and you can even control how other people interact with you. That means that it's a better experience for people and ultimately that's what we're trying to provide"
Originally launched as a project within Twitter in 2019, Bluesky has since become an independent company intent on making social more like the web.
So what does that mean, exactly, and why does it matter?
Graber also told Flipboard:
“we're in this trap where users are locked in and developers are locked out. It’s time to open things up again, she says, like in the innovative early days of the internet."
Graber goes on to tell Flipboard how when Elon Musk took over Twitter things got complicated and their experimental project within Twitter soon took a bad turn and Elon Musk was unfortunately not the captain they needed. Things played out fast and required clear leadership from Graber a new mission to form their own social media company Blue Sky. In what could be described as a response to having to be resilient and create their own decentralised social media company in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover of twitter, Bluesky was born.
So why is it that decentralised social media is so important now you ask? And why are so many users flocking to it? As Bluesky describes itself - Bluesky is an open network. With one account, you can access both an easy-to-use social network and a shared identity across the entire social internet.
Graber goes on to explain that:
"Everything that has happened on X really shows the need for a decentralised platform- and innovation gets bottle necked so we believe in customization and no limitations. That is a way to give users new fun experiences but also a way to address some of the problems we see on social media in regards to mental health and censorship."
So it looks like Blue Sky is the new experimentation social media platform and we are all here for it!
Unlike its competitors, it is an open-protocol operation, where the technology is accessible to all and is improved as users add to it.
We also love to go to reddit to see what the people think and we were happy to find the following thread
This is testament to how much the world right now needs an alternative social media platform that initially and let's hope continuously will put the users first!
And who doesn't like backing an underdog?
Jay Graber is 33 years old and although Bluesky got a timid start as a project within the twitter ecosystem it has naturally grown to meet consumer demands - the perfect product market fit scenario. Let's not forget not all startup stories are overnight successors in fact very few are and Bluesky is testament to this - it has been about for 5 years and it's now that the timing is right!
Bluesky is now a public benefit corporation that has hybrid articles of association making it both a for-profit company as well as having a mission to make a positive impact on society.
It would seem the X users are flocking to Bluesky and before you ask - yes ParlayMe just set up their ParlayMe Bluesky account - so go give us a follow, a like or just some love!
About the Author
January Barnes - Founder/Head Tech Reporter and Podcaster of ParlayMe an interactive tech-news platform for startups, investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders. Looking for PR and digital content creation that will amplify your startup, business, profile or enterprise then apply to become a ParlayMe Member today and #ParlayWithUs - https://www.parlayme.com/memberships
Comments