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Journalism of Courage
Bluesky is having its moment. The social media platform has seen a surprising surge recently and now boasts over 15 million users. Positioned as an alternative to Elon Musk’s X, Bluesky was founded by Jack Dorsey, one of Twitter’s founders, and aims to create a “decentralised social network.” From the outset, Bluesky has been presented as distinct from X and Threads, as it is built on an “open protocol” designed to keep the social network’s power and decision-making out of the control of a single company or group. One factor that works in Bluesky’s favour, especially in the current climate, is that the platform avoids biases or algorithms, unlike X and other social media platforms. Bluesky is still relatively new in the social media landscape, but as X users continue to flock to this “it” decentralised platform, here are a few hidden features and tips to help you make the most of this social app.
One of Bluesky’s lesser-known features is the ability to mute specific words from your feed. For instance, if words like “Twitter” or phrases like “Elon Musk” frequently appear in your feed, you can easily mute them. To do this, go to Settings > Moderation > Muted Words & Tags, add the word or tag you would like to mute, and choose how long you want it muted. Keep in mind that muting a word will only remove the specific word from your feed, not the user who posted it. For example, if you block “Twitter,” only the word “Twitter” will be muted—not similar words like “tweet.” When a post contains a muted word, the post itself will still appear, but its content will be hidden. Instead of the content, you will see the message “Post Hidden by Muted Word,” along with an option to reveal the content by clicking the “Show” button on the right side.
Bluesky’s 300-character limit may feel restrictive, but you can share longer messages with your followers by creating a thread by replying to your original post. When you start typing the post, hit the ‘+’ button at the bottom of the post creation box. This allows you to add another post to the thread. The thread will then be split, allowing you to continue typing your message. Once you have finished writing, click ‘Post All’ in the upper right corner to publish the entire thread.
On Bluesky, it is possible to control who can reply to the your post, giving the author more control over interaction on the social platforms. When posting, select the ‘Reply Controls’ option and choose who can reply (everyone, followers, or no one).
When posting on Bluesky, you can self-label your posts, especially those containing sensitive content. Users can tag a post with content warning categories such as “Suggestive,” “Nudity,” or “Porn.” This feature is aimed at promoting responsible content sharing. While creating a post, select the ‘Label’ option to categorise your content appropriately. This allows followers to see a warning or hide posts related to various categories, including explicit sexual images, nudity, spam, violence, and suggestive content.
Often, people quote others’ posts on social media, and while this can be common, especially for journalists or individuals vocal about certain issues, it can sometimes lead to online bullying and harassment as the post gains traction. To combat this, Bluesky offers a feature that allows you to block the quoting of your posts. By turning off the ‘Quote Posts Enabled’ option, no one on the platform will be able to quote your posts, making it harder for trollers to engage in negative behaviour or harassment.
