Why BlueSky is Winning
Meta’s Threads is hanging by a thread.
Meta bet that threading the political needle and protecting its brand from controversy would help Threads grow safely, but instead it alienated the very users it needed most. Meta sent a clear message from the start: user input came second. The result wan’t just backlash, but abandonment once another viable X alternative came along. When social platforms lose the trust of their most active and engaged users, they rebel—and no amount of growth metrics can mask the hollowed-out reality left in the wake.
Threads is still a Meta-property, so I have always remained dubious of its goals.
John Gruber thinks this is good for BlueSky:
In the old world, there was one Twitter-like network that mattered: Twitter itself. In the new world, there exists a diaspora of Twitter-like platforms which have each carved out their own vibes. There are pros and cons to the old world and new. I found it much easier, mentally, to have just one place to check, and that place was available through truly excellent native apps for both Mac and iOS. Now that my attention is spread across multiple such networks — (in order of attention) Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, and, last and definitely least, but still there, X — I feel more scattered mentally, but I’m also pretty sure I spend less time overall using all of them combined today than I did for Twitter’s peak decade-or-so, and that I’m better off for that.
But so while Threads bursting onto the scene in summer 2023 maybe delayed Bluesky’s blossoming, I suspect Threads might have ultimately helped Bluesky by opening the minds of many Twitter refugees into just trying some new alternatives. One size doesn’t fit all. Nor one social network.
Like Gruber, I am using much less social media. I do find myself using it enough to find new articles to read, but there are better options, like Smashing, that has been started by old friend Otis Chandler. I am on Twitter, BlueSky, Threads and Warpcast.