Recently, X (formerly known as Twitter) received a lot of criticism for its decision to allow blocked users to see your posts while using your data to train its AI. As a result, many people have joined Bluesky, a new decentralized platform that looks and feels similar to good old Twitter. So, if you’re departing from the X Ship and want to join BlueSky Lifeboat, here’s a comprehensive guide to getting started on the platform.
Getting Started with BlueSky
Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform, that was Created in 2019This platform is quite similar to Twitter as it was created by the same person, jack dorsey (Former Twitter Founder/CEO). it Earlier it was invite only But opened to public in February 2024 anyone can sign up For BlueSky from the website or mobile app.
Wrapping up the introduction, let’s take a look at some key things to know before getting started:
- this is one decentralized platformand you can read this Thread (created by one of its developers) to understand how it works. In essence, each account acts as its own website, and when you post, like, or share something you’re publishing a JSON file that Bluesky indexes like a search engine.
- there is one 300 words limit On posts that are twenty words longer than X.
- Similar to X, you can like, comment, share, and quote others’ posts.
- The homepage shows your Timeline where you’ll see recommended posts for yourself or people you follow.
- You can visit the “Feeds” section to discover and follow new feeds on different topics.
- If you’re having trouble finding a feed on BlueSky, search goodfeeds.co To find some interesting feeds.
- Those who don’t like to see NSFW content on their timeline can turn it off with the “Content Filter” option in the Moderation tab of Settings.
- BlueSky also lets you use domain names you own as your username on the site.
- You can share only video posts on the app after verification your account.
- Despite what I said above, Jack Dorsey is not running BlueSky.
Creating an account on BlueSky
To create an account on Bluesky you need to download this Android Or iPhone Go to app or bluesky website to sign up. The steps are the same for the mobile app and desktop site. So I would look at the mobile version of this process. Here are the steps to create an account on BlueSky.
- To get started, tap create account,
- On the next screen, select Bluesky Social As a hosting provider.
- Then enter your email address and create a password for your account.
- Enter your date of birth correctly, and hit next,
- Now, create your user handle and press nextYou can also use your X username to help your followers find you easier.
- Now select the topics that interest you to customize your feed.
That’s it! You’ve just created a new BlueSky account and you can start following users, liking posts, or commenting on others.
getting familiar with the interface
By default, when you sign in to BlueSky, you will be taken to discover Feed, which shows recommended content based on your interests. You can also switch to next to tab View posts shared by accounts you follow.
Like you can click on Show more like this Or show less like this on each post to improve your Discover feed recommendations.
The general layout is similar to X, with various options on the left side of the home feed in the website version and on the bottom toolbar in the mobile app. Here’s a description of what each option does and what you can use it for.
- Search: You can use it to follow other accounts, post, or even search feeds. It’s a one-stop destination for everything you want on the platform.
- Notifications: It will show you your notifications such as when someone follows you, likes, comments on, shares or quotes your post.
- Chat: Here you will find all your direct messages from other users of the app.
- to feed: If you want to specifically look for a new feed to follow, you can click this option to search or discover a variety of feeds.
- List: Here you can create and manage the lists that you have created on the app.
- profile: This will take you to your BlueSky profile page.
- Settings: This option takes you to the Settings page where you can make changes to various aspects of your feed, app, or your account.
- new post: Click on the new post you want to share to draft it.
If you’re a longtime Twitter/X user, this setup will look very familiar, and you can navigate it easily.
How to use BlueSky
Once you’re familiar with the app’s UI, we can move on to the important things like creating posts, interacting with them, making your feed more engaging, and managing your profile. We will go through all these things in this section.
create a post
Tap to create a post on the app create button As shown in the image below. If you are on the desktop site, click new post instead. The character limit is 300, which is 20 more than X. You can also add photos, videos, or GIFs.
By default, everyone can interact with your posts. But Bluesky gives you the option to limit interactions. just click anyone can talk While drafting a new post.
Here, you can turn it off quote setting Toggle so that others can’t quote your post. You can limit comments by selecting nobody, mentioned users Or Users followed Under “Reply” settings. When you have made all the necessary changes, click Post button to share it.
Interact with a post
Like X, there are multiple ways you can interact with a post. You can reply or comment on someone’s post by tapping comment markIf you want to share an interesting post, tap reshare iconchoose more PostTo quote a post, select quote post,
by clicking on heart symbol Will send like on someone’s post. you can click on 3-dot sign To access other options like copy post text, send via direct messageAnd copy Link to Post,
Moderate your home feed
Let’s say you want to keep your BlueSky feed family-friendly or don’t want a certain type of content to appear on your timeline. You can manage this from moderation options. Simply tap hamburger menu At the top right, go to settings , ControlOn the desktop site, you can go to Settings directly from the sidebar menu.
Here you can mute certain words or tags, moderate lists, mute checks, and block accounts. This is where you will be able to control whether or not you want to allow adult content on your feed.
Mute, report, or block an account
If an account on BlueSky is bothering you, here’s what you can do mute, reportOr block it. To do this, tap on them profile pictureWhich takes you to their account. tap here 3-dot sign Next to the “+Follow” button. Now choose the action you want to take.
Managing your profile
To make changes to your profile, press hamburger menuchoose more profile Option. you can jump profile On desktop website. click here edit Profilenow you can add a display name, Description, profileAnd background picture To make your account appear more genuine to others.
BlueSky’s limitations
Given that BlueSky just opened its doors to everyone this year, some features are not yet available on the decentralized Twitter clone. We have listed some important things that we have noticed in our use.
- Posts cannot be bookmarked, but the feature is under development and will be added soon.
- There are no trending topics here like we see on X. Currently it only shows suggested account feeds.
- Once posts are shared you cannot edit them. This may come as a premium feature later, as we saw on the X.
- Advanced search option is also not available yet.
- While GIF and video sharing were added, you cannot create polls at this time.
- As of now, there is no account verification system implemented on the app like the blue tick on Twitter.
- X Premium users get an extended character limit of 25,000 words. This doesn’t exist on BlueSky, so you can’t create long posts.
So that concludes this beginners guide on BlueSky. This guide should be enough to prepare you on this new platform. If you need any further help, let us know what you’d like us to cover, and we’ll create a dedicated guide for it.
