Introducing Bluesky: Jack Dorsey’s Decentralized Social Media Platform
Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, has made a notable return to the social media landscape with Bluesky, his latest venture in the realm of decentralized platforms. Bluesky, an invite-only social network that originated as a decentralized project within Twitter, has recently made its debut on the App Store. To access the app, users can search for “Bluesky social” on the platform.
A Familiar Design with Decentralized Ideals
The design of Bluesky bears striking similarities to Twitter, featuring circular profile pictures, follower and following counts, and bold account names with grey handles. This resemblance is hardly surprising, considering Bluesky’s roots as a spin-out company from Twitter. Back in 2019, Jack Dorsey, during his tenure as CEO of Twitter, unveiled the Bluesky team’s ambition to develop a decentralized social media protocol dubbed Authenticated Transfer. This protocol aimed to facilitate interoperability among various social media networks, and Bluesky operates on this very protocol.
The Bluesky project began its journey in 2019, with Twitter extending financial support to the initiative for several years. Although the project predates Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, Dorsey and Musk had engaged in discussions regarding the concept of an open-source protocol via text messages shortly before the acquisition.
Exploring Bluesky’s Features
Bluesky boasts a user-friendly interface that allows users to effortlessly compose posts of up to 256 characters and share images by tapping on a plus icon within the app. While Twitter’s iconic prompt is “What is happening?”, Bluesky adopts a more casual approach with “What’s up?”. The app provides basic functionalities such as sharing, muting, and blocking accounts, although more advanced features like list creation are yet to be implemented.
The discover tab positioned in the navigation menu serves as a valuable resource, suggesting accounts to follow and showcasing recently posted updates. Notifications keep users informed about likes, reposts, follows, and replies, although direct messaging functionality is currently absent from Bluesky.
Users can search for and follow other users on Bluesky, with updates from followed accounts displayed in the Home timeline. User profiles on the platform feature a profile picture, background, bio, and metrics akin to those found on Twitter.
In conclusion, Bluesky marks an intriguing entry into the social media landscape, combining familiar elements with decentralized principles to offer users a fresh perspective on digital interaction. As the platform continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how it will shape the future of social networking.
