Bluesky, Jack Dorsey’s Twitter alternative, is available in closed beta. Will users react?
Jack Dorsey’s new Twitter alternative, Bluesky, is now available in closed beta on the App Store. So the app, which is currently invite-only, should soon join the already well-stocked market for apps like Twitter, of which Mastodon is in a very good position.
Bluesky, Jack Dorsey’s Twitter Alternative, Available in Closed Beta
Interested users can fill in their email address to register on the waiting list. The Bluesky app borrows heavily from Twitter. In doing so, it offers a few rather minor differences, such as the “What’s up?”label. instead of “What’s going on?”as well as a simplified post creation process (which can also include photos) using the + button. Otherwise, there are now very familiar features, such as research, following other users, and viewing publications in the news feed.
Bluesky started in 2019 as a side project funded by Twitter. Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter and still serving as CEO when the initiative began, saw it as a more open alternative to the increasingly centralized Twitter. Then, in 2001, Bluesky separated from his own company. Jack Dorsey said that he believed social media should be completely free of control and that only authors should have the right to remove their content. Additionally, while Twitter’s decision to block Donald Trump following his role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill incidents was, he said, “the right move,”he was concerned that it was setting a dangerous precedent that raised concerns about “free and the open global Internet.
Will users react?
It’s unclear if Twitter users will migrate to Bluesky (or any other platform) in any meaningful way. That being said, given how many people are looking for an alternative due to the many controversies surrounding current CEO and owner Elon Musk, it doesn’t make sense that such moves would be recorded in the coming weeks or months. To be continued!