Social networks: 5 reasons to try Bluesky, Twitter’s rival

If you manage to get an invitation code, Bluesky offers
some advantages over Twitter, Threads and other networks
social.

SOPA Images/Getty Images

In the wake of the current Twitter turmoil, several social networks have emerged to offer an alternative to the platform owned by Elon Musk. One of these networks is Bluesky, or Bluesky Social, to be precise. Launched by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey in 2019, Bluesky looks and works like Twitter, but avoids the trouble that Musk brought.

Other social networks that are trying to appropriate a piece of the pie include Mastodon and Meta Threads. Among these two networks, Mastodon has not yet managed to impose itself, probably in part because of the complexity of its registration process and its multi-server environment. Threads gained tens of millions of users soon after its launch, but has seen its numbers plummet as it strives to surpass its main limitations and add new features.

Bluesky does not have some of the more advanced options offered by Twitter (for example, direct messages). In addition, the number of users is still low compared to other platforms. But it presents a clean and user-friendly interface, with most of the basic functions that we expect from a social network. People who already know Twitter will find it a friendly environment.

The biggest obstacle to Bluesky is getting on board. Since the service is still in beta mode, access is only possible by invitation, and these invitations are few and far between. But if you manage to get an invitation code, Bluesky offers certain advantages over Twitter, Threads and other social networks. Here are five reasons to consider a membership.

1. You can use the app or the website

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Bluesky is accessible both as a mobile application and as a website, so you can read and write messages on your PC or mobile device. This contrasts with Meta Threads, where you can read but not create posts on the website, which forces you to turn to the mobile application every time you want to post something. And even reading messages on the Threads site is not convenient because you can only view one account at a time.

Designed for iOS and Android, Bluesky’s mobile app is well designed and offers quick access to your feed, search options, notifications and your profile. The Bluesky website is just as powerful, with all the main features and options easily accessible. In the mobile application, you can even swipe to the right to display the same menu that appears on the website. As the application and the website have the same appearance and the same usability, it is easy to switch from one to the other.

2. A complete search

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Bluesky’s search tool can find both accounts and messages. This is another distinction from Threads, which currently only allows you to search for accounts. In the Bluesky app or website, select the Search option and type in your search term. From the results, you can review the messages to users based on what you want to see.

3. Easy content filtering

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Don’t want to be subjected to certain types of content? This is quite easy to achieve in Bluesky, both on the website and in the application, although the website gives you more control to make changes.

On the site, select the Moderation category. In the application, swipe to the right and select the moderation option. Select content filtering and you will be able to choose to hide, warn before displaying or directly display explicit sexual images or nudity, sexually suggestive content, violent content, images of hate groups, spam and spoofed accounts.

Twitter and Threads offer their own content filtering capabilities, but Bluesky’s process is more precise and more efficient.

4. Control your flow

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

To help you see the accounts you follow and find new ones, Bluesky offers three different feeds: “Following”, “Trending” and “Popular with Friends”. The Followed feed only shows messages from the accounts you follow. The What’s Trending feed displays the latest trending posts. Finally, the Popular with Friends feed displays popular posts among the accounts you follow.

You can even find other streams. Go to the My Feeds section and select the gear icon. Swipe down to view a few more feeds, then select the Pin icon to pin it to your main feed page. Select the Discover New streams option to view even more streams created by other users based on certain algorithms. Select one of these feeds and then you can pin it or like it.

On the other hand, Twitter offers a feed called For You, which contains tweets that it thinks you like. There is a feed that only displays tweets from the accounts you follow, but Twitter has the unfortunate habit of switching your default option to the “For you” feed. The main Thread feed displays messages from the accounts you follow as well as those from random accounts, so it is less useful than Bluesky’s feeds.

5. Custom Domains

Bluesky

By default, your username in Bluesky takes the domain name of bsky.social, as in lancewhit.bsky.social. But if you already have a domain name, you can use it instead. By using your own domain name, you can customize and verify your identity on Bluesky and integrate it with an existing website.

Don’t have a domain? No problem. Buy one directly through Bluesky thanks to the company’s partnership with Namecheap, a domain registrar known for preventing unauthorized domain transfers and for protecting domain names. Setting up a domain name in this way offers several advantages, including greater privacy in the WHOIS directory, URL redirection and email redirection.

Source: “ZDNet.com “