TL;DR
- Bluesky experienced rapid growth since its public launch, attracting over 1 million new users in just 24 hours and surpassing 4 million registrations in total.
- Decentralized platforms are gaining ground as alternatives to centralized giants like Meta.
- Although it faced technical challenges after its launch, such as interruptions in its customized algorithmic feeds, Bluesky worked to solve the problems and restore the service.
Bluesky, the decentralized social network backed by Jack Dorsey, experienced significant growth since its public launch, attracting over 1,000,000 new users in just 24 hours. This increase in its user base led the platform to surpass 4 million registrations in total. Previously, Bluesky required an invitation code for access, but it recently announced that it is now open to everyone, without the need for invitations.
The rapid growth reflects a shift in the future of social networks, where decentralized platforms like this are gaining ground as alternatives to centralized giants like Meta (formerly known as Facebook). Although still behind its main competitor, Mastodon, which saw even greater growth since Twitter changed ownership.
Welcome to the 1M+ new users who joined Bluesky since we opened access yesterday!
Sign up here: https://t.co/exCdOOYprz pic.twitter.com/si9dn04zp2
— bluesky (@bluesky) February 8, 2024
Bluesky Experienced Database Overload, Affecting Users’ Feeds
However, the road to success was not without challenges for Bluesky. After its public launch, the platform faced technical issues with its customized algorithmic feeds, causing a temporary service interruption. The technical team of the social network worked hard to solve these problems, and the app was back to normal operation shortly. Paul Frazee, a member of the technical team, explained that the issue was due to a sudden increase in database usage, causing an overload in the system.
Although it shares some similarities in appearance and functionality with Twitter, it differs in its use of the AT Protocol, which gives users greater control over their interactions on the platform. The underlying intention is to build a social network that is easy to use and allows contributions from the community.
The endorsement of Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, generated considerable interest in Bluesky since its inception in 2019. Although Dorsey was at the helm of Twitter when he began incubating the idea.
Bluesky’s initial success demonstrates the growing interest in decentralized social networks and the search for alternatives to centralized giants. Despite initial technical challenges, the social network showed its ability to attract a large number of users in a short period of time, and its future looks promising.
