Bluesky, the decentralized offshoot of Twitter, has announced some new updates, as it continues to refine and improve its platform in the hopes of grabbing more attention, and driving more usage.
Though with the emergence of Threads, Bluesky has been relegated to alternative status, yet even so, depending on what you’re into, it could be worth checking out, and considering for your broader marketing and outreach efforts.
First off, Bluesky has added drafts, a staple on other platforms, which will now bring Bluesky more into line with habitual user behaviors.
That’ll give users more flexibility in posting, by being able to click out of the composer to research and/or think about the update before submitting.
Bluesky has also updated its welcome screen, with new light and dark mode versions of its artwork.
While it’s also working on alternative feed options, improved following recommendations, simplified discovery, and more.
In combination, Bluesky is hoping that this will make it a bigger consideration for social media users, and a better alternative to what Twitter had once been.
So how is Bluesky actually going on that front?
Well…
Bluesky had been evolving slowly till August 2024, when the backlash against Elon Musk’s changes at Twitter, and his support of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. After Trump won the 2024 election, Bluesky quickly rose from around 5 million users to 20 million just three months later. That then sparked interest in the app as a legitimate Twitter alternative, but since that burst, things have slowed significantly in Bluesky-ville.
Bluesky added another 10 million users in the three months after that, taking it to 30 million users by March 25. It then took another seven months to add the next 10 million, reaching 40 million users in November last year.
The trendline in this graph shows the slowing of Bluesky’s growth, while it’s also seen a decline in post activity over time.
Though it is picking up again this year, and Bluesky recently reported that activity spiked 70% during the Super Bowl, so it is still seeing topical engagement.
But it hasn’t maintained the growth momentum of, say, Threads, which has been able to use the network effects of Instagram to scale quickly, giving it a significant advantage. But at 400 million users, it now has 10x the audience of Bluesky, despite being launched after the app.
Inevitably, that’s going to be the comparison, and it does seem that Threads has emerged as the primary alternative to what Twitter once was, while Bluesky is still a more niche consideration. But then again, those niche users are highly engaged, and very loyal to the app, so in certain segments and conversations, Bluesky may be the place to be. It’s just not the place to be for the majority of users.
Does that mean that your brand should be on it?
Well, it’s probably not necessary, but it depends on your sector, and the people that you’re looking to reach. As noted, there are very passionate and knowledgeable communities on Bluesky, and that could be of value to your business. But I would also note that the platform is not entirely welcoming of commercialization, so you do have to take the time to learn the platform specifically in order to make best use.
So it could be an option, though at this stage, I would say the ship has sailed on it ever becoming a genuine alternative to X, at least in terms of mainstream usage. Make of that what you will.
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