Bluesky and that heavenly nostalgia of Twitter

There is clean air in Bluesky. Exactly like the one that existed in the early days of Twitter, conceived and created by Jack Dorsey, and which then deteriorated, becoming almost unbreathable, after the advent of Elon Musk and the transformation into X. To paraphrase a famous song a bit by Riccardo Cocciante, we cross-border social media users, accustomed to moving from one platform to another, are experiencing a “celestial nostalgia”, remembering little birds, thoughts expressed in 140 characters and conversations (almost) civil. And it is a nostalgia that is good for us, at least until the alternative social network to X manages to defend itself from trolls, spam, porn and keyboard lions. The risk, however, is to pour too many expectations into this passage from the bird to the butterfly, the symbol of Bluesky, deluding ourselves into returning to a world that once was, of which we often remember the scent of roses but not the thorns. Because as Stephen King wrote, with a touch of genius, “when the past is at stake, we all become novelists”.

The platform founded by Jay Graber it quickly surpassed 20 million usersand it is expected that it will soon exceed 30 million. We are still a long way from the numbers of the other social networks but the growth in recent weeks is exponential, almost a million a day, and there is no guarantee that this increase will stop soon. For now, if I had to find another metaphor, landing on Bluesky and how to decide to spend a regenerating period of rest in the mountains after being intoxicated by the city’s exhaust fumes. It is not guaranteed that it will last but, in the meantime, we try to breathe deeply, knowing that in such a small place the toxicity of unhealthy relationships and conversations is struggling to take root.

This sudden increase in popularity is largely attributed to users’ disillusionment with X and Musk’s ‘political’ use of it, particularly after the recent US elections.Bluesky has seen a notable increase in engagement from people who signed up, with daily usage increasing by more than 500% following Trump’s victory on November 4th. Moreover, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, for 44 billion dollars, and the subsequent and controversial changes made to its nature had alreadyled to an exodus of users from the platform. There are those who have tried to move to Threads, Hive or Mastodon, those who have sought respite on Instagram and TikTok, those who have simply posted the “closed” message, disabling their profile and those, finally, who have simply abandoned it to its fate . But if, in recent weeks, influential publications such as the Guardian and La Vanguardia have also left, then it is easy to understand that this is not a whim but a true and widespread cultural stance. And to which Musk will, sooner or later, have to react.

The peculiarities of Bluesky

Bluesky, which really aesthetically resembles the original Twitter, stands out for several important features such as the customization of the feeds, the ease of use of the interface, and the commitment (for now) of a freedom of speech that is not falsely reduced and diminished by the upstream algorithmic selection of contents. And then, at the base of everything, there is that rediscovery of the ‘sense of community’, of closeness and belonging, which excites every start of a relationship with a new social network. The risk of isolating oneself in one’s comfort zone is evident but for many, this intention of isolation is obvious, openly declared: there is a desire to be in a living room with a relaxed atmosphere, with people you like, to discuss in peace and question yourself without fuss and shouts. The contrast, the incorrect opinion, the chaos are looked for elsewhere, it is not difficult to find it. We go to Bluesky today to find comrades lost in the infinite chaos of fake news, bots and trolls that have infested X and Facebook. All this also thanks to the possibility of customizing the moderation of your ‘bubble’, silencing unwanted words and limiting unwanted content.

The key word is decentralization. X or Threads, to give some examples, are under the control of a known and specific entity, while Bluesky is built on an open-source protocol called ATbased on the portability of personal contents (linked to this decentralized reality) from one server to another without the need for cooperation. That is, users can share their thoughts with other networks that use the same protocol, guaranteeing greater freedom of expression and greater control of their personal data. And they also have the freedom to build something that has value.

Born in 2019 within Twitter, at the behest of Jack Dorsey, Bluesky started walking on his own two feet in 2021, becoming independent from the parent company and trying the complicated path of microblogging. It is a Public Benefit Limited Liability Company (PBLLC), meaning it aims to promote user control, privacy and freedom of expression in a transparent environment without omniscient dictators. Dorsey stepped back in 2024, leaving control in the hands of Bluesky Social, PBC, an independent company responsible for developing the project. Its employees, around twenty, have run a real marathon in recent weeks to ensure the functioning of the services and deal with the enormous influx of new users.

Will the sky be increasingly blue?

It’s too early to say what will happen to Bluesky. In these cases it is never the “boom” that is important but what happens afterwards. Intellectuals, journalists and leading figures on the cultural and editorial scene are not enough to populate a social network. We need active people, we need conversations, we need relationships, we need intense but fair exchanges, initiatives and innovations of thought. No one can forget what happened to companies like Clubhouse.

We are always enthusiastic when faced with new possibilities of comparison with others, especially if the space of the first online date reminds us of digital love stories that we have experienced, with transport and passion, in the past. Twitter, for many of us, was this. And anyone who tries to remind us, Bluesky first and foremost, knows that wounds are difficult to heal and the distrust is equal in intensity to the initial enthusiasm. Indeed, it is the obstacle to overcome in order to create a relationship that lasts over time. Nostalgia alone is not enough to look to the future. Even if it is heavenly, made of clean air and with an apparently clear and immaculate sky.