![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19095228\/SEI_230062624.jpg\")
<\/div>Bluesky sign-ups continue to grow<\/p>\n
Anna Barclay\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
As a technology reporter, I like to think I\u2019m an early adopter. I first signed up to the social network Bluesky around 18 months ago<\/a>, when the platform saw a small surge in users disaffected by Elon Musk\u2019s approach to what was then still called Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t stick. Like many, I found the lure of Twitter too strong, and let my Bluesky account wither, but in recent weeks I have returned \u2013 and I am not alone. With Musk continuing to transform his social platform, now called X, at the same time as taking a role in US president-elect Donald Trump\u2019s upcoming government, the Xodus has begun. Bluesky has gained 12 million users in two months<\/a>, and is fast approaching 20 million users. This time I intend on sticking around \u2013 and I think others will, too.<\/p>\n In large part, that\u2019s because I want a social media experience without being bombarded by hate speech, gore and pornographic videos \u2013 all of which users of X have complained about in recent months. But I\u2019m also big on Bluesky because I think it signals a shift in how social media works on a more fundamental level.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Social media algorithms \u2013 the computer code that decides what each user is shown \u2013 have long been a point of contentious debate. Fears of disappearing down \u201crabbit holes\u201d of radicalisation, or being trapped in \u201cecho chambers<\/a>\u201d of consensual, sometimes conspiratorial, viewpoints, have dominated scientific literature.<\/p>\n The use of algorithms to filter information has become the norm because chronologically presenting information from followers creates a confusing morass for the average user to process. Sorting and filtering what is important \u2013 or likely to keep users engaged \u2013 has become key to the success of platforms like Facebook, X and Instagram.<\/p>\n But control of these algorithms also gives you a big say in what people read. One of the bugbears many users have with X is its \u201cFor you\u201d algorithm, which under Musk has seen commentary by and about him seemingly shoved into users\u2019 timelines, even if they don\u2019t directly follow him.<\/p>\n Bluesky\u2019s approach isn\u2019t to ditch algorithms \u2013 instead, it has more than the average social network. In a 2023 blog post<\/a>, Jay Graber, Bluesky\u2019s CEO, outlined the ethos of the platform. Bluesky promotes a \u201cmarketplace of algorithms\u201d, she wrote, instead of a single \u201cmaster algorithm\u201d.<\/p>\n In practice, this means that users can see posts by people they follow on the app, the standard view Bluesky defaults to. But they can equally opt to see what\u2019s popular with friends<\/a>, an algorithmically-dictated selection of posts that your peers enjoy. There are feeds specifically for scientists<\/a>, curated by those working in the field, or ones to promote Black voices<\/a>, which are often thinned out by algorithmic filtering. One feed even specifically promotes \u201cquiet posters\u201d<\/a> \u2013 users who post infrequently, and whose views would otherwise be drowned out by those who share every opinion with their followers.<\/p>\n This menu of options allows Bluesky to serve two purposes, bridging the past era of social media and the future one. The platform has the potential, once it reaches a critical mass of users, to act as the \u201cde facto public town square\u201d, as Musk dubbed Twitter<\/a> before he purchased it. Bluesky arguably is the only remaining such square, given X has shifted to exclude many mainstream voices, and competitors like Threads choose to shy away from promoting politics and current affairs.<\/p>\n But Bluesky also allows you to tailor the app to your needs \u2013 not only through feeds, but other elements like starter packs of recommended users to quickly get involved in individual niches, or blocking tools to quieten unruly voices.<\/p>\n There are still hitches, undoubtedly. Finding the right feed for you can be tricky, while creating your own is even more complicated, requiring third-party tools. But the ability to get the full view of public conversation, then to drill down into smaller debates within clusters and communities of that broad swathe of society, is exciting. It\u2019s a model of a new social media where users, not big companies or enigmatic individuals, are in charge of what they see. And if Bluesky continues to add users, it could become the norm. So come and join me \u2013 I\u2019m @stokel.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n