Bluesky (Bsky) is a microblogging, social networking service that started out as a Twitter research initiative,¹⁾²⁾ appointed to Jay Graber³⁾ as it went independent, then they began their invite-only beta on April 12, 2023⁴⁾ before the platform finally went public on February 6, 2024.⁵⁾⁶⁾

It is run by a benefit corporation,⁷⁾ that is reliant on seed funding,⁸⁾⁹⁾ and plans to expand its AT Protocol that would 'decentralize' the way people interact with social platforms.¹⁰⁾ For now, there is just the deluge of complaints towards staff.¹¹⁾

The service revolves around short-form posts, which users attach media and content warnings to, and has a significant focus on 'feeds' and filtering options. As usual, users can like posts, share posts, leave a reply if willing, and follow or unfollow accounts to change their timeline. Of course, the website is still relatively new, so it still has a lot of room for improvement, but a less intrusive subscription service is planned.¹²⁾¹³⁾

• Go to Moderation and toggle the 'content filters' if you would like to see adult content.
  • Go to the Bluesky Moderation Service and feel free to toggle content that you don't mind being exposed to. This includes the 'Sexually Suggestive (Cartoon)' label, if that matters.
• Go to Language Settings and clear out the 'content languages' to see posts in any language.
• When uploading media, a 'label' button will appear, allowing you to attach the proper content warnings.
  • Otherwise, users might report the post *so it can be labeled*, but don't test your luck.
  • The 'graphic media' label is intended for blood, death, gore, guro, violence, war footage, etc.
• There is advanced search, but there are no official in-client tools yet, nor a 'people you follow' filter.
• Don't rely on the default 'discover' feed. Look at feeds like 'for you' or 'discover'.
• Bluesky might infrequently spit out 'invalid handle' errors. This is, usually, a temporary server issue.
• If you have the age gate, many workarounds, including third-party clients, exist.
• You are able to change who can 'reply' and 'quote' your post. This could be useful if you don't want to deal with complete strangers randomly barging into your thread or shitting up the place.

The feeds are meant to be a 'personalized' user-crafted algorithm that anybody can make, which could enhance the user experience beyond the default 'following' and 'discover' feeds. It does takes a while to get accustomed to, but it does help break up the monotony if you know what you're doing, and you'll eventually get why some third-party clients are 'feeds first'. Some examples are below:

• Feeds by @bsky.app
  • Mutuals - A feed for 'mutuals' (i.e. accounts that you follow that also follow you back).
  • Popular with Friends - A feed that samples of what 'friends' (i.e. accounts you follow + accounts that follow you) like. Use with caution, since people can get a little wild.
• Feeds by @why.bsky.team
  • Latest from Follows - An alternative 'following' feed, without the repost clutter.
  • Quiet Posters - A feed that gathers accounts you follow who rarely post.
  • The 'Gram - An image-only feed of the accounts you follow. Mainly useful for finding artwork.
  • Latest from Mutuals - Alternative 'mutuals' feed. One post per mutual.
• Miscellaneous feeds
  • For You - Alternative algorithmic feed, based on your likes. Significantly more popular.¹⁴⁾
  • Discover - Alternative algorithmic feed, based on your likes. Asking for donations.

The 'labelers' are a moderation tool which can attach labels onto accounts/posts or hide them, depending on your settings. You can have up to 20 labelers, but the moderation service will take up one slot. In addition, these can also promote a sense of community, adding useful pieces of information or trivia. However, it must be reiterated that you do have to configure some of these labelers to fit your needs.

• Sky Follower Bridge [@sky-follower-bridge.dev‬]
  A tool for finding Bluesky accounts of users on Instagram, Twitter, etc. May return false positives.

• Boost Blue [@boostblue.bsky.social]
  If you want an iOS/Android client that's closest to Twitter. Will attempt to fetch 'last read' position.¹⁸⁾
• Graysky [@graysky.app]
  One of the earliest iOS/Android client. Personally, I'm not a fan of the 'feeds first' thing.
• Klearsky [@mimonelu.net]
  One of the alternative web clients. The UI might feel bloated to some people, but YMMV, after all.
• Skeets [@skeetsapp.com]
  If you want an iOS client that's somewhat similar to Twitter.
• Tokimeki [@tokimeki.blue]
  Highly customizable Android client and web client.

• I made a Bluesky account during the invite-only beta on October 18, 2023, user #1586918.
• On the Twitter–Bluesky relationship, it should be noted that Twitter only held this vague 'advisory seat', and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey¹⁹⁾ would abandon Bluesky²⁰⁾ to praise Nostr.²¹⁾
• Every user's blocklist is 'technically public'²²⁾ as a way to make sure that users aren't able to see each other across the network,²³⁾ though it comes at the obvious downside of airing everybody's dirty laundry and there are a number of ways to circumvent this (e.g. making a new account).
• Before going public, Bluesky started migrating accounts to 'personal data servers' in November 2023,²⁴⁾ then changed their logo from a literal blue sky to a social butterfly on December 21, 2023.²⁵⁾
• There were a number of significant migration patterns to Bluesky as the platform went public in 2024:
  • As the platform went public, there was a significant Japanese contingent when it first began.
  • Brazilian president Lula joined on April 12, 2024,²⁶⁾²⁷⁾ then Brazil blocked Twitter for a month since Twitter refused to remove accounts associated with a failed far-right coup.
  • In late 2024, Bluesky started to gain momentum, as Twitter changed how its blocks worked^28)29)30) and there were concerns over a privacy policy update,³¹⁾ which trickled³²⁾³³⁾ into a huge boom.³⁴⁾ Unfortunately, the timing of the migration made it easy for churnalists to misconstrue the migrations as a political spectacle,^35)36)37) which is why conservatives are more hesitant about joining.
• In the Japanese language, Bluesky is 'BurūSukai' (ブルースカイ), and has the clipped compound of 'BuruSuka' (ブルスカ), but it has also been rendered as 'Aosora' (青空, lit. “blue sky”).

• Bluesky - The front page of Bluesky.
  • @bsky.app, @atproto.com on Bluesky - General updates and the developer team.
  • Bluesky Debug - The server status page. You can find all the host names here.
• Community Showcase - A collection of third-party clients and projects.
• Clearsky - A tool for finding out which Bluesky users blocks who. Just don't drown in the tea.
• Anartia - An alternative front-end for people who just want read-only access.