By now, you’ve probably heard about users fleeing Elon Musk’s X. Yes, there have been a few other moments over the years since Musk acquired Twitter when users decided to leave – there were even at least one attempting to create an alternative Twitter before ownership by Musk was even considered a possibility.

But this time, the Exodus appears to be significantly larger. Following the results of the 2024 presidential election and Elon Musk’s support for President-elect Donald Trump, users deactivated in droves.

And this time, it seems like almost everyone has opted for one particular X alternative: Bluesky.

Bluesky has a lot in common with X. It is a similar town square-style microblogging platform. In fact, before Musk took over Twitter, he received an investment from the company. Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey even served on Bluesky’s board of directors. until earlier this year.

Bluesky has recorded more than 100,000 new registrations per day since the US elections on November 5. It now has over 15 million users. He benefited from an extended stay on the very high Apple App Store rankings as well.

Ready to join? Here’s how to get started on Bluesky:

How to sign up for Bluesky

It wasn’t that long ago that Bluesky was invitation-only. New users could only join the platform if they received an invitation from an existing user.

It is not the case is no more. Anyone can sign up for Bluesky.

Credit: Bluesky

To register, simply go to bsky.app and click the Register button. You will notice that all the usual input fields found when registering for any other social media platform are present, such as email, password and birthday.

Credit: Bluesky

However, there is one thing that is different: the hosting provider. Basically, Bluesky allows those who are more tech-savvy to host their own version of Bluesky, much like the alternative social media platform Mastodon has “instances.” However, most users simply don’t need to worry about this. This will not affect their experience in any way. Just keep Bluesky Social as your hosting provider.

Credit: Bluesky

On the next page, users will be able to choose their username. Choose any available name and Bluesky will then add “.bsky.social” at the end. For what? Because Bluesky allows users to use their own website domain as their login. For example, if you own YourName.com, your Bluesky handle could be “@YourName.com” on the platform. Again, this is not necessary to enjoy the full Bluesky experience. Most users will simply go by @YourName.bsky.social.

From there, Bluesky will give you the option to upload an avatar and choose topics of interest so that the platform can best suggest accounts to follow.

How to get started on Bluesky

Congratulations, you’re there. Your Bluesky account is fully configured and you can now get started.

You’ll notice that Bluesky looks a lot like Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter. There is a Discover feed which is essentially the For You feed with suggested posts and content. There is a follow feed, which only includes posts from other Bluesky users you follow.

Credit: Bluesky

In the left menu there is a Profile tab for your own account and a Notifications tab which shows who has interacted and responded to your messages. The Chat tab is basically the equivalent of direct messages.

Since you’re new to Bluesky, you’re going to want to start by following some accounts. Using the Search tab, you can find suggested accounts recommended by the platform based on your interests. You can also search for specific people to see if they are also on Bluesky. If you’re coming from Musk’s X, there is a third-party Chrome extension called Sky Followers Bridge This can help you locate accounts you follow on this platform that also have an account on Bluesky.

Probably the most unique aspect of Bluesky is the pair of related features: lists and feeds. You might think that Bluesky’s Lists feature is a bit like Twitter Lists, however, the Lists feature is much more integral to how Bluesky works than that.

Lists are a collection of accounts that can be tracked, disabled, or blocked in bulk. For example, users can create a list of Bluesky users who they think all other users interested in a certain topic or hobby should follow. Other users can then easily follow this entire list of users. On the other hand, Bluesky users have also compiled lists of accounts posting hateful or extremist content. Users can easily block all users from this list and not see any content from these accounts appear on their feed.

Credit: Bluesky

On the other hand, feeds are not lists of accounts, but organized feeds. Think of feeds as pages personalized to you. There are feeds for certain subjects like science or art, there are feeds with content only for specific types of accounts, and then there are custom feeds based on algorithms that depend on what’s currently popular on the site. By following a feed, you add a whole new tab on your main timeline to follow alongside your Discover and Follow feed.

Credit: Bluesky

But in reality, it gets even easier. Bluesky recently launched a new feature called “Starter Packs” which basically recommends users and feeds for you to get started. Other users can also create their own starter packs to help their new followers find additional accounts to follow. Simply go to your account’s profile page and click on the Starter Packs tab to get started.

Ready to post

This may all seem a bit exaggerated, but it really isn’t. Remember, you had to start somewhere on X and other social media platforms. And if you’ve made it this far, you’re ready to post. This is the part that really reminds us of Twitter.

Credit: Bluesky

Posts on Bluesky are limited to 300 characters. Users can also post photos and .gifs. Bluesky also recently added video, which can be posted as long as the clip is 60 seconds or less.

Users can like content by clicking on the heart icon. They can also repost content and cite articles.

And there you have it. That’s all the basics of Bluesky. There is now no excuse not to try an alternative to Musk’s X.