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Journalism of Courage
In 2019, Twitter announced a new project called Bluesky. The idea was to create an open and decentralised standard for social media. Independent of Twitter, Bluesky was under wraps for quite some time. The Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative is now available on Android and iOS and requires users to have an invite code to sign up and use the platform.
Based on the ‘Authenticated Transfer Protocol’ (ATP), which Bluesky describes as a place where ‘separate social networks exist within a single hub’, the App Store listing gives us a teaser of how the decentralised social media platform will look like. Similar to Mastodon’s ActivityPub, ATP helps create a federated and decentralised network. The framework seems to be designed in such a way users can transfer their account and data from one Bluesky provider to another and offers refined control over what users see on their network.
As seen from the screenshots above, the Bluesky app on mobile closely resembles Twitter’s user interface. It looks like Bluesky borrowed several features and user elements with separate tabs for Home, Search and Notifications. The timeline and the profile page look and feel like Twitter as well.
According to a report by TechCrunch, Bluesky is like a bare-bones version of Twitter. Users can create their own handles which will be visible in @username.bsky.social along with the display name in bold. It also has a ‘Plus’ button, which is used to create a post of up to 256 characters including images, similar to Twitter.
Users can also follow individuals and view what they shared in the home tab. Even profiles are separated in the same section like Twitter, where you are able to check the user’s posts and replies. However, the app currently lacks several basic features like the ability to track or see likes, bookmark and edit posts, send direct messages to others and use hashtags.
To get an invite code for Bluesky, just head over to the website and scroll down to the bottom. Click on the ‘Sign up for the Bluesky private beta’ and you will be taken to a page. Here, enter your email address, tap on ‘Join Waitlist’ and you are good to go.
While the Bluesky website lets users join the waitlist, it gives no information on how many testers the network will initially be available to or when it will be open to the general public.
Alternatively, you can also get a Bluesky invite by searching on social media like Twitter or Facebook and hoping that someone shares their code with you. If you come across someone who claims to have an invite code for Bluesky and is ready to offer one if you pay them, it might be a scam.
