After a long period in which it only admitted new users by invitation, Bluesky, the social network intended as an alternative to X, announced yesterday its complete opening to anyone. Part of a base of 3 million registered users who accessed during that restricted period. The new platform is presented with priorities in security, the possibility of creating federated communities and is also open source. Among its founders is Jack Dorsey, one of the co-founders of Twitter. Announced in 2021, Bluesky has an open standard that allows other networks to connect, called AT Platform. Over the past year, Bluesky has developed custom lines of content and features.
On the occasion of the launch, Bluesky stated in an informative note that his vocation is to “create a space that encourages open conversation.” Therefore, with the aim of “ensuring an open, safe and desirable experience” for its users, it ensures that it follows “sensible defaults and offers lists, mutes and blocks” that any user can customize to filter what they do not want to see. Bluesky will allow organizations and users to create their own moderation services later this month, and users will be able to subscribe to those additional filters.
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber said yesterday that “decentralization and open source are the future of social.” “But people – he added – are not here just for abstract ideals. They are here to have fun and make friends. When developing the AT Protocol, our goal is for it to be the last social account you will ever have to create.” In less than a month, Bluesky will launch an experimental version of open federation. This means that any software developer will be able to have their own server that connects to the main production network.
This feature allows Bluesky users to “have control over their social identity, regardless of who their provider is.” The platform explains that, thanks to these decentralized features, “users will always have the freedom to choose (and leave) instead of being subject to the whims of private companies or black box algorithms.”
