The new Twitter rival is called Bluesky and there’s a rush to try it out.
The app is still in beta and is only available to those who are on a waiting list or have received an invite.
Bluesky has already been compared to the network Mastodon and is endorsed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
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A new invitation-only Twitter alternative just got the Twitter celebs Dril and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attracted – and people jostle to follow them.
Jack Dorsey-backed platform Bluesky is a Twitter clone with a very similar format to its established rival.
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Bluesky is since February available on Apple’s App Store, but recently added an Android and a beta web version.
According to one of Bloomberg According to the Data.ai study cited, the app for iOS was downloaded more than 240,000 times, with around half of those installs occurring in April.
Sea Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky, had 1.2 million people on the platform’s waitlist after Elon Musk took over Twitter.
Musk’s ex-girlfriend Grimes also appears to have joined the platform by posting a link to her own Discord server. Business Insider could not independently verify the profile.
And that is how it works:
Bluesky users set up a profile by choosing a picture, resume, display name and domain name. Once in the app, they can write, repost, like and reply to other users. There’s also a search function to find others, and the platform suggests following people who are “in your network”.
Bluesky’s timeline is divided into two feeds: posts from users who are followed by an account, and a “What’s Hot” section that shows popular posts. Unlike most alternatives, the app doesn’t offer direct messaging features or hashtags.
Another missing feature is the ability to block other users or set your own profile to private. On Thursday, Graber acknowledged that user harassment was occurring and that the team is working on a blocking feature as a result, which has been delayed due to “protocol complexity.”
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The app is still in beta and is only available to invited or waitlisted users. The invitation codes are usually issued every two weeks. A Bluesky representative on the platform said the team occasionally “randomly” distributes additional invite codes to activate more users.
Bluesky was with Mastodon, a previous Twitter alternative, compared. Both platforms are decentralized, which means that user data is not stored on servers owned by a company. However, unlike Mastodon, users don’t have to choose a server when signing up – something that posed a problem for Mastodon users who found the process too complicated.
Bluesky was founded in 2019 when Dorsey was still CEO of Twitter, and received first a financing from the company it now competes with.
In April last year, Bluesky clarified the company’s relationship with Twitter and said: “The Bluesky project originated with Twitter in 2019, but the Bluesky PBLLC, founded this year, is an independent company focused on the research and development of decentralized social networks.”
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