I updated my social links. Notably one of the icons was replaced with a little butterfly linking to my Bluesky account! You can follow and message me over there now.
My initial reactions have been positive. A social media experience that's... pleasant. I love the human curation of feeds and starter packs with clear definitions about what to expect.
So far I've found communities of people sharing their good lunches, avid readers, celebrating developer wins in their personal projects and so many more!
Another exciting element is the open protocol Bluesky is built on encouraging developers to build new social apps. There is a huge opportunity here to get creative and breakout of the sameness other social media platforms present. I'm really excited to see what folks build!
Here's the best part though: LINKS! Bluesky allows users to link to external sites without penalizing reach. Other networks require you to either pay financially or with reach to include links to external sites. With Bluesky links are encouraged. The importance of this cannot be overstated. Allowing links between sites is a core component to maintaining a free and open internet. I'm getting big early web vibes from the ability to discover cool corners of the internet with Bluesky.
Not everything is great. A lot of popular posts are just dunking on the other platform, which is getting old. There seems to be less engagement farming for now. I'm sure that will start happening. While everyone talks about the growth of Bluesky it's still a small social platform with ~20 million users. Live sports and breaking news don't seem to have a big following. While I enjoy the human curation aspect, sometimes finding those communities is a challenge.
I'll check back in a month to see how the experience has evolved. Overall, I'm optimistic, so we'll see how it goes!