November 11th, 2024

Bluesky capitalizes on X woes with funding and user growth

Bluesky, a decentralized social network, has grown to over 13 million users since February 2024, supported by $15 million in funding, and plans a subscription model while ensuring free basic services.

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Bluesky capitalizes on X woes with funding and user growth

Bluesky, a decentralized social network, has reported significant growth, reaching over 13 million users since its public launch in February 2024, up from approximately three million. This surge in user numbers coincided with a $15 million funding round, which aims to support the platform's development of a subscription-based model for premium features while maintaining a free basic service. Bluesky's approach contrasts with rival X (formerly Twitter), which has faced criticism for prioritizing paying subscribers and limiting user control over content. The platform's user growth has been partly fueled by dissatisfaction with X's management, particularly following controversies that led to a temporary shutdown in Brazil. Bluesky emphasizes its commitment to content moderation and user accessibility, positioning itself as a more user-friendly alternative. Despite the challenges faced by decentralized platforms, including financial sustainability and competition from established tech giants, Bluesky's focus on user experience and community engagement may allow it to thrive in the evolving social media landscape.

- Bluesky has grown to over 13 million users since February 2024.

- The platform secured $15 million in funding to support its operations.

- Bluesky plans to introduce a subscription model while keeping basic services free.

- User growth has been driven by dissatisfaction with rival X's management.

- Bluesky emphasizes content moderation and user accessibility as key differentiators.

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By @PaulHoule - 3 months
For now it is amazing how nice Bluesky is compared to competitors. On Mastodon you see endless complaints about lacking ALT text, on Bluesky you get compliments because they liked your ALT text. I need about 15 rules to keep angry unhinged stuff from my feed on Mastodon, my feed is tolerable without filters on Bluesky. Join me at

https://bsky.app/profile/up-8.bsky.social

By @more_corn - 3 months
“social media service X, known as Twitter until it was bought in 2022 by a wealthy immigrant from South Africa…”

Hilarious way to refer to him.