What is Bluesky? Everything to know about this decentralized Twitter alternative

Bluesky, considered to be the Twitter alternative, launched by former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, has made its way to App store and as expected, more testers are gaining access. Despite the fact that the social app is still only available as an invite-only beta, its App Store arrival could indicate that a public launch could be by the corner.

So much hasn\’t been heard from Bluesky since October, 2022, when the team in charge of the project released an update about Bluesky vie the Bluesky blog, revealing more insight on the status of the social protocol that powers its new Twitter-like app.

As more and more upgrades are been experienced on Twitter from its new CEO, Elon Musk, more users are on the look out for an alternative to the social app.

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What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a decentralized social network, meaning it runs on its open-source Authenticated Transfer Protocol, where servers can interact with one another. The app\’s interface is so similar to Twitter. It was made to intrigue the attention of Twitter lovers. As at the time of writing this review, the app is yet to be officially launched. And so, we can\’t give out so much information about this social app.

From all we have gathered this few weeks, Bluesky users can post text and photos and like or repost other people\’s content. Like Twitter, users can add a header image, a profile picture, and a bio and can see each other\’s follower counts.

Bluesky disclosed that its AT Protocol gives users to the feature to own their online identity and move their account from one provider to another. Bluesky\’s blog categorically said users have complete control over their algorithm, to give them autonomy over their experience on the app. So, how can i create a Bluesky account?

How to create a Bluesky account?

At the moment, the app is only invitation-based, so without an invite, you can\’t be registered on the app. However, you can join Bluesky\’s waitlist and try out the beta version. I can\’t say when this app will be officially released, but according to Bluesky website, the social media app will be launched soon for the public to download and register. The public may still have to wait some time for a wider release, but those interested in Bluesky can join the waitlist now to try out the beta in the meantime.

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Why is decentralized social networking becoming popular?

We discovered few months back that Meta was working on a decentralized social network to compete with Twitter. And this Meta\’s decentralized social network is planning to give users more control over their social media experience. So, to answer the question as to why decentralized social networking is on the rise, I\’ll say that decentralized social media apps aim to give users the most control over their presence as well as the content they consume. Unlike on other traditional social networks, the app controls what people see and when they see it.

For example, on Twitter, users with a Blue badge (verified users) receive the most visibility on the app because they pay for an upgraded version of Twitter. Social apps like Bluesky aims to create customizable algorithms that leave it up to the user what content they see when they see it and how often they see it.

How will BlueSky work?

BlueSky aims to create a \”decentralized\” protocol for social media. This would give companies and individuals the option to build apps, services, or recommendation algorithms on the same underlying networks and data.

It\’s similar to how email works. You can send an email to a person who uses a different email service and still be sure your message and attachment will get through. That\’s because email is built with technical rules such as HTTP and TCP/IP, which provide a common standard for how computers should communicate with each other over a network.

Such \”protocols\” are open source, allowing anyone to use or build products on top of them. That\’s what BlueSky is planning to develop, but its ment only for social media.

A peep into Bluesky\’s interface

Where Twitter asks “What’s happening?,” Bluesky asks “What’s up?”

It provides you the option to search for and follow other individuals, just like on Twitter, then view their updates in a Home timeline. User profiles contain the same sort of features you’d expect: a profile pic, background, bio and metrics, like the number of followers and posts a user has, as well as how many people they’re following. Profile feeds are also divided into two sections, like Twitter: posts and posts & replies.

Users of Bluesky can share, mute and block accounts, but advanced tools, like adding them to lists, are not yet available.

The discover tab in the bottom center of the app’s navigation is useful, offering suggestions of who to follow, and a running feed of recently posted Bluesky updates. The latter gives you the opportunity to find more people who you might like to follow, based on their posts rather than just a bio.

Posts themselves can be replied to, retweeted, liked and, from a three-dot menu, reported, shared via the iOS Share Sheet to other apps, or copied as text.

Another tab lets you check on your Notifications, including likes, reposts, follows and replies, also much like Twitter. There are no DMs.