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On February 6, Bluesky, a decentralized alternative to social network X backed by Twitter co-founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey, went public after beta testing with more than 3 million users.
You can now sign up for Bluesky without an invite! 🎉https://t.co/rUyMjYVEkt pic.twitter.com/PaT4Z6hJnu
— bluesky (@bluesky)
“When you go to Bluesky, it may seem familiar - the user experience should be simple. But internally it's designed to put control [of the tape] back in your hands. Here, your online experience is not at the disposal of one company. Whether it’s a time period or content filters, Bluesky allows you to easily customize your personal social experience,” says the project’s blog.
Alternative Approach
The interface and functionality of the social network really resemble early Twitter. The platform logo is a white butterfly on a blue background.
However, according to the developers, Bluesky's algorithms and moderation mechanisms differ significantly from the approach of its competitors. The project is built on the decentralized AT Protocol, which is “virtually uncensored and does not collect personal data.”
According to a Bluesky press release, an experimental "Federation" feature will be available in February, allowing users to connect to private servers within the platform's ecosystem.
The Federation architecture includes three main parts:
- personal data servers (PDS);
- repeater;
- App View - content that is displayed to users.
“AT Protocol is designed on the principle of “big world with small fallbacks” as the most open network. On the Internet, individual computers upload content online, and then all of that content is streamed back to other computers. Similarly, using our protocol, we send messages to a much smaller number of large aggregators, which transmit them to PDS,” the developers explained .
Personal data servers send the received information to a relay, which then filters the content for a specific user. After this, suitable posts are displayed in the feed in the form of a so-called App View.
User Experience
When registering on a social network, the user is immediately prompted to select several areas of interest in the form of tags. Based on the selection, the algorithm will also select suitable accounts to follow.
In addition, Bluesky has implemented a system of feed channels that relay content on a specific topic.
The social network’s personalized moderation mechanism, in which algorithms and users themselves mark specific content, allows you to customize its display in the feed.
Dorsey first announced the project of a decentralized social media platform in 2019. In February 2022, the Bluesky PBLLC organization was born .
In April, after Twitter management decided to sell the social network to billionaire Elon Musk, Bluesky recalled its independence .
Dorsey's project later raised $8 million in a seed round led by Neo.
Let us remind you that from January 25 to February 3, 2024, the number of active users of the Farcaster Web3 platform increased ninefold - from 2,700 to 25,000. The number of content authors in social applications based on the protocol increased from 2,400 to 19,100.
