Do you really need to download Bluesky and add another social media app into your mix?

Posted on November 20, 2024

I know this is what many of you are thinking, as reports of Bluesky’s rise continue to filter through social media circles. And the answer, at least right now, is probably not, though you may want to at least sign-up and reserve your preferred handle/s.

Over the past two weeks, Bluesky has seen a surge in usage, which seems to have been triggered by the U.S. Election, and a swing against Elon Musk’s X, as well as the shortcomings of Meta’s anti-political content approach on Threads.

Bluesky screenshots
Well, that and Threads defaulting to its recommendation-filled “For You” feed, which impacts the freshness and in-the-moment presence of the app.

In these respects, Bluesky is much more like Twitter once was, with the capacity to default to your “Following” feed, while Bluesky also doesn’t restrict political topics, or limit the reach of links.

That final note has helped to endure the app to the tech press in particular, and that, in itself, could be why you’re seeing more notes singing its praises.

But either way, broader interest in the app is growing.

According to Similarweb, Bluesky usage has surged an estimated 500% in the U.S., while it’s also seen a 350% jump in daily active users in the U.K.

Bluesky usage trends
Another analytics provider, Appfigures, reports that Bluesky has held the top spot on the App Store downloads chart for almost a week, beating out Threads (currently at 4) and X (41).

In terms of total audience, Bluesky has now surpassed the 20 million users mark, and has almost tripled its user base since August.

So it is becoming more relevant, which has already seen a range of publishers and brands setting up profiles in the app.

So should you be among them?

Well, it’s hard to say as yet, because I do feel like at least some of the Bluesky hype is being drummed up by the tech press, as noted. 20 million users, while significant, is also well behind Threads (275 million) and X (500 million), which are its most direct rivals in regards to real-time, text-based social media. So it’s not really a major consideration, and likely won’t be for some time yet.

But if its current growth momentum holds, it could facilitate a range of new opportunities.

If I had to pick one, I would still say that Threads is more likely to supplant X as the key text-based platform of choice for significantly more users, or that it’s more likely to remain the main rival to X, which will see the two competing for audience ongoing. I also suspect that Meta will change its anti-politics stance on Threads now that the U.S. election has passed, while it may also look to enable more control over your experience, especially if Bluesky continues to gain traction.

Essentially, I think that Threads has more levers to pull to compete with Bluesky, and potentially stunt its growth, while it’s already 10x bigger than the app.

But Bluesky may establish a niche purpose, and it could become a bigger hive of conversation in certain sectors.

In this sense, I suspect that its fate will be more akin to Mastodon, where certain groups will embed themselves and become increasingly committed to the app. But much of the current hype will likely die down again, especially if Threads decides to make the above-noted changes to counter its allure.

That said, it could be worth taking your claim in the Sky, and ensuring that you’ve at least set-up a profile for potential future reference.

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