Bluesky, a distributed social networking platform, was down on Thursday, so some users cannot load feeds and alerts. Bluesky has been enjoying a significant rise in popularity; hence, this disturbance coincided with a turning point. Initially called Twitter, this platform, sometimes referred to as a “friendlier alternative” to X, has lately ranked highest in the U.S. and U.K. Apple App Store download lists. Following the recent U.S. election, the explosion in downloads reflects many users departing X for different platforms.
“One of our internet providers had some downtime, apparently because a fiber cable was out,” said a Bluesky spokesman, explaining the problem. That implies it occurred somewhere other than our business. The company also sent a status update from Cogent Communications, a provider serving Bluesky, stating that temporary connectivity problems had occurred in its network spanning Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia.
Bluesky claims that a few users experienced the outage, which seemed to be fixed later on Thursday. In the meantime, Bluesky’s staff turned to social media to lighten the tone. “By the way, today will be interesting,” one developer said jokingly. Grab a Coke and pet the kitty should the site go down. We’ll whack it with a wrench as quickly as we can.
Why Are Users Leaving X for Bluesky?
Bluesky has witnessed a spike in sign-ups since former President Donald Trump emerged victorious in the U.S. presidential contest; last week alone, 2.25 million additional customers joined. Jack Dorsey, a co-founder of Twitter, founded Bluesky, distinguished for its distributed architecture—that is, for running individually run servers rather than centralized corporate-owned infrastructure. Though Bluesky’s user base is still somewhat small compared to X, the platform has attracted people who are more unhappy with X’s latest path.
What Role Has Elon Musk Played in Users' Shift to Bluesky?
For many, the choice to go to Bluesky has been shaped by the activities of Elon Musk, the present owner of X. Musk, who has endorsed Trump’s election campaign and is anticipated to remain highly active in the incoming government. Musk’s political preferences and impact on the platform have drawn more attention and caused a flood of users to leave X.
Chief Market Strategist Cory Johnson of Epistrophy Capital Research said on the trend: “People are both disgusted and scared of Elon Musk and what Twitter has become. Bluesky and Threads are the benefactors; users are running from X.
Launched as a rival to X, Meta’s Threads has also expanded during this time, offering consumers another choice for a social networking platform free from X’s political entanglements.
Why Are Media Companies Reconsidering Their Presence on X?
Some media outlets have joined the exodus, expressing worries about Musk’s capacity to shape the conversation on X. Pointing to the platform’s influence in forming political debate during the most recent election, British news source The Guardian declared it will stop publishing on X this week.
“The US election underlined our concerns that Musk has been able to use X to shape political discourse,” The Guardian said in a public statement stressing its worries.
Bluesky is positioned to keep drawing fresh users as the dust settles after Thursday’s outage. Its distributed approach and friendly community provide an attractive substitute for general user disappointment.
