Bluesky’s architecture is similar to that of Twitter rival Mastodon.
(Photo: dpa)
san francisco The short message service Twitter is getting a new competitor after it was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk. Bluesky is the name of a social network funded by former Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. In the USA, the network has been able to attract a number of celebrities and people from politics, the start-up scene and art over the past few days.
The platform said on Thursday that it had seen its biggest single-day rush of new users since its inception. Notable additions included US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US writer and comedian Dril, and model Chrissy Teigen.
What is Bluesky?
At first glance, Bluesky looks very similar to Twitter. Users can create profiles and share texts and images. The difference lies in the underlying technology.
A decentralized architecture is in the foreground. In contrast to portals such as Twitter or Facebook, the platform wants to offer a contact point where users have the freedom to take their profile with them in the long term – across different networks.
What is the Bluesky user base?
Compared to well-known portals such as Twitter, Bluesky still has a small user base. Bluesky boss Jay Graber told the Bloomberg news agency that around 40,000 users have currently been activated for the platform.
Who is behind Bluesky?
Bluesky’s beginnings go back around four years. Bluesky has always been closely associated with Twitter. Then-Twitter CEO Dorsey first reported on the project in 2019. The platform is designed as an independent organization and plans to “build an open community around it, including businesses and organizations, researchers and civil society leaders.” While Bluesky was formed as a separate entity, it was funded by Twitter until February 2022. Since then, the IT expert Graber has been the head of Bluesky.
Is Elon Musk involved in Bluesky?
It is not known if Musk is involved. Bluesky was already independent before Musk first publicly expressed his interest in buying the short-messaging service Twitter.
What is the difference between Bluesky and Mastodon?
Like Bluesky, Mastodon is a short message service that uses a decentralized approach. Mastodon is a legacy social network that has been in development since 2016 by Eugen Rochko and Mastodon gGmbH, which he founded in Jena and is based in Berlin. Bluesky is significantly younger, and many details about the platform are not yet public.
How do I get access to Bluesky?
Access to the network is by invitation only. Anyone can be placed on a waiting list on the company’s website. Existing Bluesky users can share one invite link per week. The interest seems to be very high. So big that many people have already installed the Bluesky apps without even having access to the platform.
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The data.ai portal calculated that the application has been downloaded 375,000 times from the Apple App Store. For the Google Play Store, the figure is around 100,000 downloads. Twitter moves in completely different dimensions. The short-messaging service reported more than 200 million daily active users last year, before Musk completed its acquisition.
What should be considered with Bluesky?
Privacy activist Ashley M. Gjövik has pointed out particularly far-reaching rules with regard to Bluesky’s terms of use. The network grants itself extensive rights therein. “Bluesky’s privacy policy states that they track everything users do on the site, as well as what users do before they get there and what they do after,” Gjövik wrote on Twitter.
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