Bluesky, which internet users may remember as the potential "Twitter-killer" when it launched in 2023, might finally be gathering the momentum necessary to achieve that lofty ambition, as the site received over 1 million new users in the past two days.
The internet has gone through myriad experiments with "alternatives to Twitter" ever since Elon Musk changed the site to X and implemented a series of controversial changes that have angered much of the userbase, such as juicing his own posts so that everyone has to see his controversial thoughts.
He and X staff may have finally broken the proverbial "camel's back" with a contentious change regarding the site's Block function. First rumored in late September, X's new "block" will still allow blocked users to see the posts of someone they are blocked by, but they cannot interact with said posts.
At the time, many voiced disappointment at the proposal, as the regular block function allowed them to prevent harassers and stalkers from seeing their content.
On Wednesday, the rumored change to the block function was formally announced on X, and this appears to have kicked off something of a mass exodus to Bluesky.
Bluesky culture might be ready for an influx of new users this time. People who joined Bluesky in the early days may remember it as an exceptionally bizarre place as developers worked out the kinks, the site's meme culture was chaotic, and the userbase was very eager to show off their private parts.
All of that seems to have stabilized to a reasonable degree, and there's a palpable energy that Bluesky might actually become the legitimate Twitter alternative it promised to be last year.
Of course, social media users have heard that story before, and only time will tell if things will actually pan out for Bluesky this time.
Top Comments
heygarrett
Oct 18, 2024 at 05:11PM EDT
xoxin
Oct 18, 2024 at 08:08PM EDT