The social media platform Bluesky has recently picked up some attention in the online sphere, but why is that the case?

It functions as an alternative to X (formerly known as Twitter) and looks very similar in terms of its page design, colour and logo.

To put it simply, it basically functions as X used to do when it was still called Twitter.

Bluesky is growing rapidly and is currently picking up around one million new sign-ups a day, BBC News reports.

me watching Bluesky's user count grow by another million in a day hello and welcome to all 19M of you! 🥳

[image or embed]

— Bluesky (@bsky.app) 18 November 2024 at 02:51

The main difference between Bluesky and X is that it is decentralised, which basically means users can host their data on servers other than those owned by the company.

BBC News adds: "This means that rather than being limited to having a specific account named after Bluesky, people can (if they like) sign up using an account they themselves own.

"But it is worth stating that the vast majority of people don't do that and a new joiner will most likely have a ".bsky.social" at the end of their username."

Who owns Bluesky?

Bluesky is run and predominantly owned by chief executive Jay Graber as a US public benefit corporation.

However, it was created by the former head of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, which perhaps explains the similarities to what is now called X.

👋 Bluesky is an open social network that gives creators independence from platforms, developers the freedom to build, and users a choice in their experience. We're so excited to have you here! We share Bluesky updates & news from this account. A quick orientation thread: 🧵✨

— Bluesky (@bsky.app) 17 October 2024 at 08:06

Mr Dorsey is no longer part of the team behind it, having stepped down from the board in May 2024.

Why is Bluesky gaining in popularity?

Bluesky has been around since 2019, but it was invitation-only until February of this year.

This is so developers could work on issues that emerged so it could deal with a larger user base.

BBC News adds: "The plan has worked, somewhat. But the flurry of new users has been so significant in November that there continue to be issues with outages."

Some people have jumped across to Bluesky due to their dissatisfaction with X, which is owned by Elon Musk.

Additionally, the number of new Bluesky users spiked following Donald Trump winning in the US elections in November.

Musk who was a big backer of Trump during his campaign, will be heavily involved in his administration.

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This has led to a political division, with some people leaving X in protest.

The Guardian also announced it would no longer post on X, saying it has become "a toxic media platform".

In a statement, they said: "This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism."