‘Twitter Rival Bluesky’ Opens To The Public As Farcaster Grows

(CTN News) – Bluesky, a rival to Twitter, announced Tuesday that it now offers a public beta version of its app after nearly a year of invite-only testing.

Essentially a Twitter-like social feed, the platform is built upon a decentralized protocol that is not censorable and does not collect user data. Additionally, users will be able to transfer their own personal data over to other servers within a federation of networks using the AT Protocol.

Bluesky was first conceived and backed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey when the company was part of Twitter. The Bluesky company emerged as a viable, user-focused alternative to Twitter after Elon Musk’s divisive purchase and overhaul in late 2022.

According to the company, Bluesky has over three million users since it launched in beta last March. Free registration is now available to all users.

A decentralized social media platform, Farcaster, has gained traction in recent weeks, particularly among tech and crypto enthusiasts.

Following the introduction of a novel feature that allows users to mint NFTs, make purchases, and play games, the decentralized, blockchain-backed social media protocol Farcaster has seen an exponential increase in signups and activity within the past week.

Data from Dune indicates that Farcaster has just over 139,000 users at the moment. While Farcaster’s signups pale in comparison to Bluesky’s, its fairly technical user experience remains geared toward crypto enthusiasts.

Elon Musk’s controversial changes at Twitter just over a year ago have prompted a slew of rivals to promise better days for weary posters. These new apps promise to end censorship, privacy concerns, and bot activity with their decentralized technology pitches.

Despite their best efforts, none of these would-be Twitter slayers has dethroned their rival. With over 500 million monthly active users, Twitter remains the top text-based social media app.

It is also difficult for Twitter’s competitors to retain users once they have signed up. Several celebrities and public figures endorsed Bluesky when its beta went live last year, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kumail Nanjiani. The accounts of Ocasio-Cortez and Nanjiani have not been updated in over seven months; Jack Dorsey’s account appears to have been deleted.

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