bluesky has seen A huge increase in the weeks following the US election. As of Tuesday, there are 24 million users on the social media platform. With great business comes great responsibility, which means Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has a lot to do to keep up Promise not to “fool” the platform With advertisements, while still financing its explosive growth.
On Tuesday, during WIRED's Big Interview event in San Francisco, he vowed to keep that promise and said the company is still “focused on making sure it's a great experience.” [for users] As we grow up,'' she said.
Enshitification, as it is known, typically comes when social media platforms expand and need to squeeze money from users to appease investors and keep the lights on. Since Bluesky doesn't plan to run ads, WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs asked, how does Bluesky plan to make money? “Subscription is the first step,” Graber said, referring to a plan For example, users must pay a regular fee for the ability to upload high-quality videos or access certain customization features.
With this in mind, Graber admitted that the rollout of the premium subscription has been delayed due to the recent increase in the number of users. When asked if this feature would be coming soon, he replied, “That was the plan, but we've had a lot of growth lately.”
Bluesky was founded as a social media experiment inside Twitter, though it became fully independent before Elon Musk bought its former parent company and changed the name to X. purchase of oysters Of full support Behind Donald Trump, Bluesky began to draw millions of new users,
Jay Graber and Kate Knibbs in The Big InterviewPhotograph: Tristan DeBrouwere
during post election surgeBluesky's full-time staff of 20 people sometimes struggled to handle the influx, with the site temporarily crashing a few times. As growth continues, Bluesky is now better equipped to handle its user base without any interruption. during recent Interview with Casey Newton for the Platformer NewsletterThe company said it has increased the number of content moderators it works with from 25 to 100 contractors.
One of the distinguishing features of Bluesky is the decentralized platform Focus on user customization and control. It's easy to adjust what you want to see through user lists, starter packs and muted words. If power users decide to go through this process, they also have the option of setting up their own website hosting provider.
Despite Bluesky currently capturing the zeitgeist, Meta Threads, another Twitter/X alternative, is increasing Besides, it remains quite large in size. Meta spokesperson Alec Booker told WIRED via email that more than 35 million new users signed up for Threads in November. Feeling the competitive pressure, Meta has announced plans More Customization Options To be added to the threads.