In the weeks following the US election, Bluesky experienced massive growth: at the start of the week, there were 24 million users on the platform. But with great commitment comes great responsibility, which means Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has her work cut out for her to keep her promise to “not litter” the platform with ads, while also funding her explosive growth in revenue. users. At WIRED’s The Big Interview in San Francisco, he pledged to keep that promise: “The company will make sure it’s a good experience for users as we scale.”
The decline of the network, often referred to as “enshittification“, typically occurs when social media platforms expand and need to squeeze money out of users to please investors and keep business going. Since Bluesky doesn’t plan to run ads, WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs asked to its CEO how it plans to make money: “Subscriptions are the first step,” Graber replied, referring to a plan for users to pay a periodic fee for the ability to upload higher quality videos, or access certain customization features. Taking this into account, he admitted that the recent growth in users has delayed the rollout of subscriptions premium. When the journalist asked him if the feature would be coming soon, he responded: “That was the plan, but we’ve had an exponential increase.”
An experiment that went well
Bluesky was incubated as a prototype social network within Twitter, although it became completely independent before Elon Musk acquired the parent company and renamed it X. After the acquisition by the businessman, Bluesky received a boost of new users as an alternative to the platform, however, the number rose even more after the US elections in November, in which Musk largely supported Donald Trump .
During the post-election surge, Bluesky’s full-time staff of 20 struggled to manage the influx, and the site temporarily crashed on several occasions. As growth continues, Bluesky is now better equipped to manage its user base without interruption. During the recent interview with journalist Casey Newton for the newsletter Platformerthe company announced that it had increased the number of content moderators it works with, going from 25 to 100 contractors.
Why Bluesky?
One of the distinctive features of Bluesky is that the decentralized platform focuses on customization and user control. It’s easy to adjust what you want to see using user lists, starter packs, and muted words. Advanced users even have the option to set up their own web hosting providers if they decide to go through the process.
Although the social network currently monopolizes space-time, Thread de Meta, another alternative to X, continues to grow at the same time and continues to expand its influence. Alec Booker, a spokesperson for its parent company, told WIRED by email that more than 35 million new users signed up for its platform in November. Feeling pressure from the competition, Meta announced plans to add more customization options to Threads.
Article originally published in WIRED Italy. Adapted by Alondra Flores.
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