Bluesky

For freeing social media from the algorithm

- MAX UFBERG

IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE—OR AT least negligent—to tell the story of Bluesky without first acknowledging X. After all, it was Twitter cofounder and former CEO Jack Dorsey who first announced the idea for a decentralized social media system back in 2019 (before the platform became X). Dorsey even came up with the name, and then funded a small team of researchers with company cash. It grew into a stand-alone entity that launched to the public in early 2024.

And it was Elon Musk, who took over as CEO of X in 2022 and orchestrated its political and technical realignment—scuttling content moderation rules, transforming its blue-check verification into a pay-to-play model, and amplifying conservative voices—that drove millions of people to seek an alternative. Bluesky grew from about 3 million users at the start of 2024 to more than 28 million by Donald Trump’s inauguration in late January.

Yet Bluesky isn’t just a repository for social media’s disaffected. It’s also the best example of how "federation"—a buzzy Silicon Valley term that describes a structure wherein multiple independent groups collaborate to share information—can build a more equitable and independent social media experience. Getting to this point, for Bluesky CEO Jay Graber and her 21-person team, has meant some very long hours at the laptop. "It's been all hands on deck," she said in January.