Is it time to ditch X for Bluesky? It’s a question I’ve been asking a lot over the past year … and maybe you have, too.
I’m usually a fairly early adopter of social technologies, and I’m reluctant to let go once I’ve made a commitment. For instance, I was user #1,498 to join LinkedIn, which now boasts more than a billion users in over 200 countries. Same with Facebook (where I joined in 2005, I think) and Twitter, where I joined in April 2007 — about two years before Elon Musk.
But social media moves fast, and this seems like a good time to take stock of our options. After all, time and attention are the coins of the new digital realm.
Is it time to ditch X for Bluesky or another social network? I’ve been tapering off my X postings and just joined Bluesky, and I suspect I’ll be spending more time there and on Threads in the coming months. How about you?
For better or worse, we’re now living in an era of fractured social media. If you have something to say, you need to find the right online community — or communities — where your voice will be heard.
So let’s take a look at what the main text-based social networks (what we used to call “micro-blogs”) have to offer — and whether it’s time to make the switch from X. Just keep in mind: What you get out of your favorite social networks depends on what you put in.
X (formerly Twitter)
url: https://twitter.com
Size: 600 million active users
Overview: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I used to spend a lot of time on Twitter and organically grew my followers to 30,000+ without much trouble. But X (the awful name for the rebrand of Twitter) has become a cauldron of vitriol in recent years — so much so that the author and podcaster Kara Swisher refers to the site now as a “Nazi porn bar.” While millions of users have fled, I have greatly reduced my posts there. There’s something unsettling about coming across patently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic posts in your feed, to say nothing of all the bot-driven disinformation.
The main reason for looking elsewhere for smart conversation is that so little of it is happening on X. The quality of discourse has fallen off a cliff, and users and bots spend most of the day sharing posts from sites that didn’t exist a year ago. Worse, Musk’s algorithm now dials down engagement when you dare to point to articles you’ve written on Medium, on a blog or in a credible publication.
Wharton professor Kevin Werbach on X: “It’s a censorious ideological bot swarm of covert dark patterns.”
Interesting tidbit: The European Federation of Journalists, which represents 295,000 journalists in 44 countries, says they will all stop posting content on X after Jan. 20, 2025.
Tip: You can avoid much of the nonsense on X by using its lists feature. I follow lists (private and public) that I or others have created that contain updates from credible figures, interesting thought leaders and reputable organizations.
Bottom line: The trolls have won. Time to scale back or move on.
My account: @jdlasica
Bluesky
url: https://bsky.app/
Users: 24 million
Overview: While not nearly as large as X or Threads, Bluesky has nearly doubled in size over the past two months as millions of users have turned to it as the best alternative to X. And size isn’t as important as engagement — Bluesky (founded by Jack Dorsey in 2019) has active daily usage that’s considerably higher than the other social networks in this roundup. Conversation is polite and intelligent, and people seem to be having more fun here.
The vibe: Cool, quirky, upbeat. It’s not the global watering hole of the old Twitter where you can see tons of celebrities, journalists, political leaders, and sports fans discuss the day’s news, but you can find bits and pieces of your favorite tribe. There’s also a lot of discovery and serendipity — which is what I like most about social networks.
Notable features: Bluesky offers more than 40,000 custom feeds, allowing you to choose how your content feed is curated and displayed. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s very powerful. With “starter packs,” you can create and share curated lists of suggested accounts based on interests or topics. You can find starter packs for journalists, artists, legal experts, etc. You can say, I want to see more content about space exploration, or the World Cup, or folk art, and Bluesky will show you that content.
Mark Cuban on BlueSky: “So refreshing. Social media is Social again. … User control over our feeds is great. Including the ability to fully hide from everyone, unwanted replies, and block those people. If I hide a reply from a troll from everyone, no one sees it.”
Bottom line: If you miss the old Twitter, check out Bluesky. It has a very small team of 20 people, but it’s growing like gangbusters. The Bluesky content experience is based on what you want it to be, not based on an algorithm that pleases the man behind the curtain at X.
Notable users: Mark Cuban (@mcuban.bsky.social), filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (@realgdt.bsky.social), singer Lizzo (@lizzobeeating.bsky.social), actor-comedian Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt.bsky.social), actor Ben Stiller (@benstiller.redhour.com), actor John Cusack (johncusack.bsky.social), author Rebecca F. Kuang (@rfkuang.bsky.social), author Jami Attenberg (@jamiattenberg.bsky.social), Mia – Book Blogger (@paradiselibrary.bsky.social), political strategist Rick Wilson (@therickwilson.bsky.social), tech journalist Larry Magid (Larrymagid.bsky.social)
My account: jdlas.bsky.social — I’m just getting started on Bluesky, so if you’re over here, let me know and I’ll follow you back!
Threads
Users: 275 million
Overview: Threads, launched in July 2023, saw a big spike in growth early on, attracting 100 million users in its first five days by leveraging Meta-owned Instagram. Threads resembles Twitter right down to the look, feel and (abbreviated) features. But I’ve seen little in the way of innovation by Threads since its launch.
Disappointingly, Threads tunes its algorithm to downplay real-time news, current events and engaged conversations in favor of bland content bait. Its recommendation algorithm also restricts the reach of those who post “threads” containing links to other sites — which is what the Web is supposed to be about. But give it a try, Threads may be a good X alternative for you.
The vibe: This is a safe place for those who escaped from X’s tech bro cult. I should probably be spending more time here, but I can’t shake the feeling that Threads has a mass-media mindset that treats its users as consumers rather than as users looking for meaningful engagement and conversation.
Notable features: Your feeds are limited to the people you follow and to what Threads thinks you might like. But spurred by Bluesky, Threads has just made changes that include custom feeds.
Tip: On the desktop, you can set up columns of people you’re following and that feed will update in real time so that you’re not looking at posts that are hours old.
Bottom line: If you’re more into entertainment than news and current events, you may like Threads better than Bluesky. For instance, you’ll find more funny videos on Threads than on Bluesky or Mastodon.
Active users: author Stephen King (@stephenking), author Jodi Picoult (@jodipicoult), TV late-night host Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel), actress Eva Longoria (@evalongoria), author-podcaster Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), CNN journalist Jim Acosta (@jimacosta), NY Times tech columnist Kevin Roose (@kevinroose.com), Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge (@reckless1280)
My account: https://www.threads.net/@jdlasica
Other options
• Mastodon: A lot of my tech friends have gravitated to Mastodon, which has a not-too-shabby 9 million users. It pioneered decentralized social networks and, if Bluesky and Threads weren’t around, I’d be spending a lot more time here.
• Sez us: Democratic political consultant Joe Trippi has been trying to get politically engaged left-of-center folks to gather in this new space, but starting a new social network from the ground up is really, really hard.
• Gab: This alternative social media platform, known for its far-right user base, has maintained its presence online despite facing significant challenges and controversies since its inception in 2016.
• Parler: Another alternative social media platform with a far-right user base, Parler is exclusively a mobile app now on Android and iOS.
