Bluesky, a new social media platform marketed as an alternative to X, formerly Twitter, is rising in popularity following the election.
Elon Musk, who owns social media platform X , will have a position on President-elect Donald Trump's newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency , or DOGE . For many X users, it would seem that this association was the last straw following his controversial management of the platform.
Here's what to know about the X exodus and the social media platform seeing an onslaught of new members.
What is Bluesky?
The platform is described as "a social app that is designed to not be controlled by a single company." Essentially, Bluesky is a decentralized social media app. It has a similar look and feel as X, but has some different features to bring more people into its creation.
"Unlike other closed platforms, Bluesky is an open social network that gives users choice, developers the freedom to build, and creators independence from platforms," spokesperson Emily Liu said in an article from USA TODAY.
Why are so many people joining Bluesky?
Reporting from USA TODAY shows some very different trends around X. A record-breaking 942 million posts were made worldwide on X and a 15.5% increase in new user sign-ups was recorded on Election Day and the following day. However, X also saw more than 115,000 account deactivations in that period, the most since Elon Musk took over site.
Musk's cuts to moderation teams were seen by many as likely to lead to an increase of misinformation and hate speech on the platform. His association with Trump may have served as the icing on the cake to many, a final straw to drive those already frustrated with Musk's changes to the platform and political beliefs to another social media site.
Meanwhile, Bluesky is something of a foil to Musk's removal of these moderators, stressing a commitment to strong moderation and customizable user experience. The website and app also have many similarities to X in navigation capabilities and appearance, making it an attractive replacement to those leaving X.
Bluesky member counter
Liu also told USA TODAY that as of Thursday, Nov. 14, the app has seen approximately 2.5 million new signups in the week leading up to that date. As of Tuesday, Nov. 12, there were over 20 million users on the platform, according to to the tracker bcounter.nat.vg .
She also said the platform is seeing record activity in all metrics of engagement, including likes and follows.
"Users have also been sharing feedback that they're receiving more engagement (and higher-quality engagement) on Bluesky than on other platforms despite initially having more followers elsewhere," she said.
More: Election maps: See how all 100 North Carolina counties voted for president, governor
When did Bluesky launch?
While Bluesky was originally started in 2019, the app launched publicly in February 2024.
Who founded Bluesky?
Bluesky was originally started in 2019 by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, but the two platforms parted ways in late 2022 according to USA TODAY.
Now, Bluesky is owned in part by CEO Jay Graber, as well a board including Jabber inventor Jeremie Miller, Techdirt founder Mike Masnick and Blockchain Capital general partner Kinjal Shah, according to Bluesky .
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: What is Bluesky? What is the difference between Bluesky and Twitter?
