How to get the most out of the decentralized platform and grow your audience

You may have heard of this Bluesky story. This is gaining momentum.

Recently, the social media platform surpassed 20 million users and shows no signs of slowing down. The site has skyrocketed with 500% more traffic since the US election, with Elon Musk steering X, formerly Twitter, in an increasingly political direction in recent months.

Why Bluesky is different from X

Bluesky’s secret sauce: it’s decentralized. It uses an open source framework called AT protocolgiving people outside the company both transparency and much more control. Instead of registering on Bluesky’s server, you can set up your own personal data server if you wish, over which you maintain full control and can set your own rules.

This way you can configure your domain name as your username. Although optional, this has the added benefit of verifying your identity for other users. Here is the Bluesky guide to set this up.

The decentralized nature of Bluesky also allows the ecosystem to evolve in multiple ways, as opposed to a platform like X where the company dictates everything from the algorithm to future features. Bluesky encourages developers to build on this and gives creators some independence from their platform if they want, while reducing the risk of censorship. You can set up custom feeds to track whatever you want, and messages are end-to-end encrypted.

Then there’s another very practical reason why you should be on Bluesky, if you aren’t already: a lot of people are there. It’s no longer just about tech-savvy people. The general public began flocking to the platform looking for a choice beyond the X- and Meta-owned Threads. And more and more brands and celebrities are establishing their presence.

Getting started with Bluesky

So what are you waiting for? Here’s how to get started:

1. Register: go to https://bsky.app to create your account (or download the Bluesky mobile app and start there).

2. Choose a Server: Make a choice whether you want to start on Bluesky’s server or configure your own custom server.

3. Set up your identity: choose a unique ID and upload a profile photo.

4. Find out who to follow: you will see recommendations and you can very quickly start following the content that interests you. The default algorithm is set to highlight diverse and engaging posts, and it will evolve over time based on your usage.

5. Confirm and Publish: Confirm your account via email and you’re ready to start publishing. Send your first message to the Bluesky world and off you go.

Once inside, you will see that it is a plot like Twitter was. It’s not by mistake. In fact, Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey was involved in the early days of Bluesky, co-founding it in 2019. The familiar UX gets you started quickly. You can quote posts, repost them, hearts, replies, use hashtags and everything else you would expect.

What won’t you see? It’s not as toxic as other social media platforms, at least not in its current form. It doesn’t force controversial content into your feed like some other platforms do. Instead, it will be organized based on what you select and any custom feeds or lists you have set up. This leads to more fruitful discussions and less yelling, fighting, or general controversy.

Best practices for Bluesky

1. Personalize your experience: Take the time to follow the right accounts, so you can start receiving recommendations on who else to follow. You’ll find that once you get started, it’s actually very easy to discover new content that interests you.

2. Speed ​​up setup with Starter Packs: Search for “Starter Packs” or create your own watchlists organized by topics or categories. You can use Bluesky’s search to find some. Start here then add a word or two based on your interests, like Tech Starter Pack, News Starter Packetc. Bluesky makes it easy to track them in lists or track all the accounts on them at once.

3. Take advantage of decentralization: It’s set up this way for a reason: use it! This means actively seeking out third-party apps and tools that are compatible with Bluesky and enhancing the functionality of your experience with moderation tools or custom feeds.

4. Make meaningful connections: It’s social media — be social! Start interacting with others, reply, quote, repost and chat with those who have the same interests. This will help you build your own audience and put you on the path to success.

5. Contribute to the ecosystem: Think about what you can do to extend Bluesky’s premise and help it grow. Everyone benefits when there are real competitors and real choices, so that a small number of select companies cannot dominate the ecosystem. If you’re tech-savvy, create an app or plugin. Otherwise, just help spread the word about Bluesky.

Once there, make sure to promote your presence on Bluesky:

• Add it to your website alongside other social media profiles

• Send an email to your audience to promote the account

• Consider adding a Share button to articles if you are sure your audience is on Bluesky

Another tip: search bsky.app or “sky” as a reference source in GA4 or Looker Studio to track the impact of Bluesky traffic.

This article was originally published on Rebelmouse.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org

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