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Bluesky app: The network is still a construction site

Photo: Richard Drew / AP

Jack Dorsey launched the Bluesky project while he was still CEO of Twitter. The initial goal at the time was to develop a new technical protocol that would enable communication across various social networks. Bluesky has been an independent company since 2021, and the network of the same name has been online for around a year. But it is only now opening up to all interested users.

As Bluesky announced on Tuesday, this ends the phase in which an invitation code from existing users was required to join the network. Now you can simply register with an email address.

Bluesky offers apps for iOS and Google Play, but can also be used in the browser. The user interface is reminiscent of the earlier Twitter, the focus is on short texts, images and links.

Timelines sorted according to personal preferences

A special feature are the different feeds, i.e. differently sorted timelines, between which you can switch back and forth: A timeline is strictly chronological, i.e. not sorted algorithmically. The “Discover” feed shows the most popular content on the network and “Popular with friends” shows the content that is particularly popular within your own circle of friends. Developers also have the opportunity to create their own feeds and offer them to all other users. Currently available are, among other things, a “Science” feed, which only shows content from people working in science, and a feed only for cat pictures.

But Bluesky is still clearly a construction site. It is currently not possible to secure an account with two-factor authentication. This makes it all the more important to protect the account with a strong password that is not used anywhere else. Content moderation is also to be expanded; the Bluesky creators are envisioning a system in which users can set their own filters in addition to standard moderation in order to block certain types of content.

With only three million accounts to date, Bluesky is a niche offering. In principle, however, it can compete with Elon Musk's Platform X, the former Twitter, as well as Meta's App Threads, Mastodon and other networks. Twitter co-founder Dorsey is not CEO of Bluesky, but he is

on the board of directors.

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