Elon Musk's X finally has a true competitor -- and it's actually pretty great

[SharonClark]

Why I'm sick of X — and optimistic about Bluesky
The problem with X is that it has become completely unusable.

By Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Opinion Writer/Editor
Journalists are migrating there en masse. Celebrity actors and musicians are flooding in. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has joined the party, and the New York City mayor’s office is ordering agencies to set up camp. They’re calling it the #Xodus, and it’s happening fast.

Millions of social media junkies and power users are pivoting from using X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, to setting up accounts on Bluesky, a buzzy platform that resembles the earlier days of Twitter before Musk rendered it a technically unusable mess.

Bluesky was developed in recent years by Jack Dorsey, a co-founder of Twitter, as a kind of open and decentralized alternative to Twitter. (Dorsey has since left the board of Bluesky.) In terms of the basic user experience and design of the site, it looks a lot like Twitter used to in the pre-Musk era. Bluesky had an invite-only beta launch in 2023, and in February it became available to the general public. While it has grown throughout the year, it has seen a meteoric explosion in sign-ups after the election. And with media organizations and politicians now setting up accounts on the site, it looks like Bluesky is exuding “official new alternative to Twitter” vibes.
. . .

source: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/blue-sky-leaving-x-social-twitter-musk-rcna180359?cid=eml_mda_20241118&user_email=95d3878287e11d7327ccf871e1ee65a4613202f47c00e15603ce32732c551bef

[True Blue American]

1. I never went on Twitter.

I see people are going on Bluesky. May try it but with DU anda couple of others not sure I need another, but will check it out thanks

[magicarpet]

2. Next mission,...

.... turn Tesla into a Tonka toy factory.

[mtngirl47]

12. then after that, get somebody (not Bezos) to provide an alternative to starlink n/t

[LastDemocratInSC]

14. Alternatives to Starlink are on the way and so are the new problems with them.

Amazon has Project Kuiper which will require about 3,000 satellites. Starlink has about 6,000 in orbit now with about 6,000 more planned and a possible expansion up to about 30,000 total.

Other alternatives include OneWeb, Telstra, ViaSat and TeleSat and they will all require large numbers of satellites to succeed.

See the problem? Is there enough room in low earth orbit for all of these? If collisions occur, the high speed debris will cause more collisions and could lead to a catastrophic situation where getting any spacecraft beyond LEO would be quite risky for people and machines.

Kessler Syndrome:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome

[Old Crank]

18. Also earth based research will be impacted

by the thousands of shiny things flying around in space.
Getting in the way of telescopic viewing.

[hunter]

19. Fuck Starlink and all its future competitors. I hope they all fail spectacularly.

These kinds of communication systems will only accelerate the destruction of earth's remaining wilderness areas.

Universal communications, those that blanket the earth's entire surface ought to be reserved for emergency services only.

Routine communications can be served with fiber optic cable and cellphone towers, even in rural areas.

My great grandparents ranch, which is about as far away as you can get from a Wal-Mart in the 48 contiguous states, got electric and phone service as part of FDR's New Deal. Accomplishing the same with high speed internet over fiber would be easy in comparison.

[JI7]

3. I never signed on to twitter but there were a few people who I would check sometimes

but it seems like immediately after he got control of twitter the comments were just full of trolls and spamming .

[CoopersDad]

4. Bluesky is much like early Twitter, but I don't know if people use it the same way.

IIRC, Twitter when if first started was a platform for reading local breaking news before local or national news could get to it.

It was like crowdsourced news. If a fire broke out at a stadium during a game, Twitter had it first, as an example.

[Emrys]

9. Dorsey et al. first developed Twitter as a way for board members of podcaster Odeo to brainstorm in real time

As it expanded, the initial applications included researchers sharing thoughts and observations as they went about their business.

Only later did it develop into what you've described.

[CanonRay]

5. I am on it for one week, it's great.

I was never on Twitter. I get early news stories, plus no trolls and bots...they get quickly blocked and bounced.

[Native]

15. I'd like to follow you. Message me your user name if you're interested or follow me and I'll follow you back.

I'm raycing on BS.

[Arrgh]

17. Same here.

I was never on X/Twitter, thank god, but Bluesky is quite impressive. I highly recommend it.

[Sweet Freedom]

24. Same

We need a DU-er starter pack.

[Ms. Toad]

7. I killed the bird last night.

Because Twitter still is a vitally important site for communities which can't meet in person - especially some portions of the disability community - I have been reluctant to abandon it entirely. It's sort of like public school - for decades, private schools have been stealing resources, students, faculty, etc from public schools, shifting the population to largely those who can't afford to go elsewhere, leaving public schools a deteriorated shell of their former selves, for those without the means to escape to greener pasture

My child went to public school, because I didn't want to contribute to the destruction of public schools for those who had no other choice. (We did move into a district that was not failing, however.)

Many in the disability community don't have the spoons to move (especially not repeatedly), find their people, and feel safe in another platform.

I decided to kill my Twitter account last night, in part in response to an active discussion among many in the disability community that it may be time to move, regardless of the cost.

** Spoons, in case you aren't familiar with the term: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://lymphoma-action.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/2020-05/Spoon%2520theory%2520by%2520Christine%2520Miserandino.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwijie3Fm-aJAxV2MlkFHfV-KloQFnoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0QfE85w899zKX7suJrWZBo

[Wild blueberry]

22. Thank you for spoons article

and increasing my understanding.

[UTUSN]

8. Had account but never used Xitter except clicking on posts here & in news. Disabled it & joined Bluesky

yesterday. Also had a Threads account never used, so am barely trying both now. Same with Reddit, not using but there.

* Have not posted, yet in Bluesky I've suddenly got 5+ not known and not solicited Followers? How did they find me and why?

* Blue/Threads lots of pictures. Seem to have "words to the wise" encouragement posts. Shocker to see a porn dude's near x-rated pic.

* DU's format is perfection for me, not used to the endless random scrolling on those two.

* How to bring posts from there to here? And how to post pics?

[Sweet Freedom]

31. Unsolicited followers

I think people there are actively trying to support small accounts. There's even a popular post to boost dems to 1K followers.

[Jit423]

10. I only hope it remains faithful to the truth and facts and good solid information to raise the level of discourse

for all. So far, no badgering or ugliness.

[Horse with no Name]

11. The block feature on Bluesky is powerful

It allows you to completely shut down trumpers

[ToxMarz]

13. I don't disagree with the potential here for Bluesky

But it is funny how things "blow up" all of a sudden through the media. Bluesky hasn't changed anything today (I've had an account for months), but all of a sudden now to all the media it is the bestest newest thing around. It's dominating all of my news feeds. Up to now, the media reporting has treated the exact same thing as just "Meh".
Better late than never though.

[Takket]

16. i've been on bluesky 18 months. it is great

There is no algorithm ramming what it "THINKS" you want down your throat (or as it is used on X, to promote Nazi propaganda). you control your feed, and blocking/muting is totally up to the user. not like X where people call still read your posts even if you block them.

There are also moderated lists you can sign up for to block Nazis en masse. i even signed up for one list that automatically blocks anyone with "MAGA" in their user name or bio.

[orwell]

20. It's great...

...defund the Cons!

[DownriverDem]

21. I'm on Bluesky!

Come and join. cathybrabant.bsky.social

[Sweet Freedom]

25. Thanks! I just followed you. :) /nt

[WinstonSmith4740]

23. Just signed up!

Looking forward to conversations with sane people. I'm sure there will be trolls, but I doubt they'll last too long.

[Sweet Freedom]

27. They have mass block lists that are great.

@skywatch.blue is a good place to start.

[mainer]

26. It's really, really easy to block MAGAs and Nazis there.

A number of BlueSky accounts are dedicated to blocking the worst of the worst, and they'll do the blocking for you, if you subscribe to their accounts. If you encounter a bot or a nazi, you report them, and they'll be added to the blocklist. It's essentially crowdsourcing safety.

[mainer]

28. I also like the fact the CEO is a young woman. So is the COO.

Imagine that. A tech company headed by two young women. It just FEELS safer.

[GoCubsGo]

29. Hal Sparks and Cliff Schecter are having a GREAT discussion about this

on Hal's "morning " show today. You can hear it on his YouTube page, under the title "Hal Sparks Monday Megaworldwide." Which means you can go listen to the whole thing later, if you can't listen now. Lots of ins and outs of both platforms, as well as other, how to best exit Twitter, and even how to fuck with Twitter/Grok. It's a must-listen.

[Oliver Bolliver Butt]

30. the best competitor for X etc. is real life

[jfz9580m]

32. This! nt