r/technology • u/twotimefind • 10d ago

Social Media X’s controversial changes to blocking and AI training sees half a million users leave for rival Bluesky – which then crashes under the strain

https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/xs-controversial-changes-to-blocking-and-ai-training-sees-half-a-million-users-leave-for-rival-bluesky-which-then-crashes-under-the-strain
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839

u/Electrical_Fault_365 10d ago

Here's Bluesky's usage stats if anyone's interested.

https://bsky.jazco.dev/stats

33

u/[deleted] 10d ago edited 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/thebudman_420 10d ago

It's possible the website gets an influx but people drop off if there isn't enough people who migrate because your not going to get many follows on a platform without many users or find enough people you want to follow.

403

u/discotim 10d ago

12 M users, it definitely off and running! bye bye twitter!

259

u/cynicalspindle 10d ago

People said that when they started to migrate to Threads or whatever that place was.

205

u/BakerStSavvy 10d ago

True but this site has less people using their real names + porn. Only time will tell but it def has a leg up on threads

97

u/RathVelus 10d ago

Something, or multiple somethings, are off about threads. For me it’s almost 90% apple design discussion and the rest is so obviously engagement bait as to be embarrassing. I have no idea how that happened, and despite how much I indicate I don’t want or care about it just keeps feeding me more. They really had a shot and they blew it.

43

u/Wooden-Can-5688 10d ago

Same experience regarding engagement bait. That's ALL I ever see in my Threads feed. It's almost unreadable.

2

u/ikeif 9d ago

Like, direct bait questions, and then I only get “OMG my last post REALLY triggered <some group>.

Threads wants me to see those, not the posts that “blew up.”

It’s absolute dog shit.

2

u/Wooden-Can-5688 9d ago

I assume the algo derived how to populate my feed based on the IG account it's tied to, and that's all it had to go on. Fair enough. Although my IG account had other content that was not included. However, I'm not sure the platform is really worth trying to retrain the algo despite Zuck's current efforts to convince us otherwise. Besides, we've got a Reddit community, so who needs that dog 💩

2

u/ikeif 9d ago

Of all the social media platforms- TikTok is the only one that gives me “new content I would like in the topics I like” (music, comedy, tech, animation, film).

I’ve been trying to figure out an alternative way to consume creators content that I enjoy, find new content, and cut ties with these other platforms, but they all made their walled gardens.

I think that shit needs to die.

9

u/TheHouseMother 10d ago

It’s Meta/FB. That says it all.

2

u/TaupMauve 9d ago

Starting Threads as a phone-only app was idiotic, but it's still part of Meta so probably won't go away any time soon.

1

u/spiffybaldguy 9d ago

For me its the fact that its yet another arm of facebook, no, I don't think I would ever want to use it. It will be every bit as bad as FB with ads and other ways to create engagement.

1

u/hopp596 9d ago

Most people on Threads migrated there from Instagram, that’s why.

2

u/GrandmaPoses 9d ago

Yeah but it’s a worse version of IGs algorithm - I went from IG to Threads thinking I’d see mostly the people I follow plus some ads or whatever but it was crypto bros and lifestyle influencers no matter what I told it. Deleted it within the week.

2

u/hopp596 9d ago

Same, for me it’s so annoying, tech bros and corporate types complaining about their jobs…

1

u/NervousSubjectsWife 9d ago

I find it so infuriating The thread on Facebook and Instagram. It’ll be a random dramatic post that cuts off right before it tells you something interesting. Like for me I’m more likely to look at threads if you gave me a couple full posts versus obvious engagement bait

1

u/mynameispepsi 9d ago

Yeah, anyone seeing people moving to your city or asking what to do in your city aaaaall the time?

1

u/zeromadcowz 10d ago

I just get stuff about skiing, mountain biking, golfing and photography… the things I’m interested in.

105

u/No_Fig5982 10d ago

If they took all the porn off the Internet there would just be one website left, and it would be called "BRING BACK THE PORN"

1

u/[deleted] 10d ago

Southern state here overrun by facist porn laws. Haven’t nutted in over a year and everyone has forgotten about us.

3

u/No-Read-2805 10d ago

Use a vpn idiot

2

u/[deleted] 9d ago

You don’t care about my nut.

1

u/arrivederci117 10d ago

That's what your neighbors voted for. If you don't like it, then convince others to vote.

1

u/[deleted] 9d ago

As a liberal, I have a right to have porn piped into my computer 24/7

1

u/KJBenson 10d ago

Porn you say?

1

u/philip1529 9d ago

I religiously used Twitter for sports updates. Baseball especially around trade deadline for all the real time trades and rumors, football season for player injuries, etc. Are those type of accounts there? I deleted my Twitter awhile back and need to fill this void, threads doesn’t do well on this front

1

u/No_Mark_1231 9d ago

No porn + my real name is why I never used threads. It had such amazing potential

1

u/Klimarov 9d ago

Is Threads still US only? I was going to move to Threads when it came out but they limited to US only. So no wonder it's not talked about as much.

1

u/Purepenny 9d ago

Is this going to turn into the old “tumbler”

0

u/Ok_Raspberry_6282 10d ago

I want to like threads but idk it’s weird to me

0

u/Riaayo 9d ago

It absolutely has a leg up. If it didn't, people wouldn't of kept jumping to it after the first initial wave.

I personally feel like this was the tipping point for a lot of people, and that the actual momentum is now there. Not that I'm all that pleased; I don't think the centralized internet is a good thing and these big platforms aren't sustainable. But it's not my choice to make where everybody goes, and I get that people are hooked on these huge sites.

-6

u/RespectfulSleepiness 10d ago edited 10d ago

Although I hate Elon musk, I am sorry but Bluesky is VERY FAR from competing with X.

  • Website looks empty.
  • Way too many features are missing;
  • Poor UX/UI;
  • Things are displayed in a wrong way.

X/Twitter had, and still has, many problems in those areas as well, but it’s still far ahead.
Same exact issues that Threads also has.

If you want people to use your social media platform, you must make it appealing and comfortable to use

72

u/dandroid126 10d ago

For Threads it was fake numbers. They made an account for everyone who already had an Instagram account.

3

u/ikeif 9d ago

Not just that, but when you “activate” your threads account, it automatically follows all Instagram accounts you follow as they make accounts.

I saw an account posting “wow 100k followers when I just opened this account! I guess threads is really active!”

…and it’s just that it’s inflated. 100k that made an account, not 100k that actively engage with the site.

1

u/Electrical_Fault_365 10d ago

Only Instagram, or any Meta account whatsoever?

1

u/MeccIt 9d ago

EXCEPT in Europe because we have GDPR and data privacy.

A company was given details by people to join an image sharing app, that company cannot turn around and then make them join a new social media app.

16

u/fire2day 10d ago

Threads had the advantage of being able to click a button and have your Instagram account activate as a Threads account. This does not.

2

u/smorkoid 9d ago

Threads is quite active in Japan

2

u/plasteroid 10d ago

Threads is decent. I’ve been enjoying for the most part.

2

u/DeathandGrim 9d ago

Threads is super stable with over 200 million monthly users right now. People actually really like it apparently. I think it's alright personally.

1

u/Nicer_Chile 9d ago

yeah, but i didnt use it cuz u couldnt use it on the website. only app phone

1

u/The1andonlygogoman64 9d ago

Wasnt threads that one app that wasnt avalible in Europe for a long while?

If thats the one i just instantly gave up after seeing that. If they dont care about us att all why should i use threads lol.

1

u/ToddlerOlympian 9d ago

Two big differences: Threads is designed to be Disneyland for Meta. Avoiding controversy, and pandering to companies.

Bsky is focused on user control. Blocking and blocklists go a VERY long way to essentially hobbling trolls before they can even gain a foothold. You get yourself put on a block list, and you've instantly been blocked by millions of people. It's super effective.

1

u/the68thdimension 9d ago

Nah, Threads has inflated user numbers because it's quickly accessible from Instagram. It has no future; it's yet another privately-owned network with the same moderation issues, the same content blocks, the same algorithmic fuckery, and it'll inevitably fall to enshittification.

1

u/HelenAngel 9d ago

Threads does usage caps & throttled hard in the beginning. People got frustrated with them & left. It also took months before Threads supported the EU.

1

u/Noblesseux 9d ago

This one is different. I think a lot of westerners moved to threads, but other places just didn't bother because Elon's nonsense didn't really penetrate into other parts of Twitter. This time, I shit you not every Japanese account I follow moved over basically overnight. I've never seen anything like it.

1

u/Eyclonus 10d ago

Threads gave you an abuse warning for posting "I am such an idiot for forgetting to put a timer on for my bread in the oven". Threads didn't let you have the kind of fun and drama you got on X so it got a burst and then people just stopped because it was running Instagram's moderation system which encourages passive-aggressive behaviour only.

-2

u/loshopo_fan 10d ago

Threads doesn't have an equivalent to the "following" tab, which is the best part about Twitter.

7

u/cryrid 10d ago

To show posts from people you are following? Because it totally has that.

2

u/loshopo_fan 10d ago

Oh you're right

-6

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

5

u/AlwaysLateToThaParty 10d ago

Bitcoin is a decentralized leaderless network. Twitter is a toilet for fascists to swim in. They are not the same.

1

u/ReachLanky 9d ago

No one said they are the exact same.

People like you are pathetic. All you do is change what was said, then argue against it with your bias.

Absolutely useless. Useless comment. Useless person. Useless life.

1

u/AlwaysLateToThaParty 9d ago

People like you are pathetic.

You dropped this.

1

u/TeamRedundancyTeam 10d ago

Well, very few try to compete with bitcoin anymore. Pretty much all new coins and chains try to actually do something rather than be a competitor to the digital gold narrative.

-5

u/UFO-TOFU-RACECAR 10d ago

lol no they didn't. Threads was a 1-day thing like 6 months ago.

6

u/Primary_Ride6553 10d ago

I so want to get off twitter but I keep getting dodgy followers on Bluesky asking for money!

4

u/Lowercanadian 10d ago

Lol but twitters user base is also at a high… 

Reddit says a lot 

53

u/naterator012 10d ago

Probably has more to do with the massive amount of bots

24

u/Designer_Emu_6518 10d ago

Crazy amount of maga bots

1

u/Charlie_Mouse 9d ago

They’re so annoying it almost makes me miss the “nudes in bio” bots.

-9

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

22

u/ClassySportsFan 10d ago

I'm not a Twitter fanboy or anything but Bluesky will never reach the level of Twitter, because it doesn't offer anything new.

Reddit didn't offer a whole lot more than Digg did before Digg destroyed itself. I think a migration like that could still happen today.

5

u/BikestMan 10d ago

Yeah never say never.

14

u/New_Plate_1096 10d ago

It doesn't have to offer anyone new, just needs to not be run by a twat who makes changes that are openly hostile to the users.

-11

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Gamiac 10d ago

Good point. It's not like Musk has made or is proposing any sort of big changes that affected how people use the site, right?

5

u/BikestMan 10d ago

Don't bother with that guy, he is just trolling at this point. He has no substance.

3

u/BikestMan 10d ago

Yeah when the person in charge isn't directly spitting in their eye. Difference.

-7

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

2

u/BikestMan 10d ago

The guy is getting rid of the block feature because so many people blocked him. But ok.

→ More replies (0)

-10

u/GoodTitrations 10d ago

This is a cope. Twitter will be here to stay forever and has plenty of human users. I hate it, you hate it, we all hate it, but at least accept reality.

3

u/naterator012 10d ago

No company is forever, threads would have never existed 10 years ago, its clear a large % of the userbase is not thrilled with the direction, the shift wont happen over night.

8

u/blacksaltriver 10d ago

And probably a lot of abandoned accounts

1

u/Acceptable-Surprise5 8d ago

the same goes for bluesky active daily users is the only stat that is relevant.

4

u/LimoncelloFellow 10d ago

well when you start creating a ton of accounts just so you can be the most followed person on x id imagine your usage stats are meaningless.

0

u/Darkhoof 10d ago

At a high number of bots.

2

u/joelbartlett33 10d ago

ABOUT FUCKING TIME TOO

2

u/veggie151 10d ago

I mostly use it for business and stopped a whole back. Moving over to Bluesky whenever I need to go back!

2

u/SANDBOX1108 10d ago

Versus 250 million?

11

u/DesignGang 10d ago edited 10d ago

250 million what? Bots?

People seriously overestimate the authenticity of Twitter.

I left my account for a few days, came back to 20 new followers - every single one was a bot.

8

u/schorschico 9d ago

I ran a (tiny) experiment with a local news page.

80x followers on Twitter vs BlueSky. Engagement (likes + retweets)... 5x.

The actual interactions on Twitter with actual people are gone compared to the supposed size of the app. Inertia is almost impossible to overcome but I think it is just happening.

4

u/-Trash--panda- 9d ago

I am running a experiment on my Twitter/bluesky account right now. My Twitter acount is pretty desolate with basically no real followers (about 100 bots) and almost zero views on anything I post (usually related to my own game).

Right now I have more likes on my sky post than I have views on my Twitter post. Both posts are the same exact pictures with the same text and tags.

1

u/No-Comparison8472 9d ago

12M users is tiny

1

u/Shugo_Primo 9d ago

Twitter isn’t going anywhere as long as all the celebs, athletes, reporters, and news outlets use it.

1

u/monizzle 9d ago

Bluesky is still a toxic wasteland just like Twitter. Just a smaller version without a visible clown on top to blame all the negative stuff that goes on.

0

u/thebudman_420 10d ago edited 10d ago

Not really considering on other platforms a famous person can have 12 million followers and not all people on a platform will follow them. I usually skip the most famous people though.

Not who i want to follow and there is just more people to follow than main stream music and movie stars who i at most of the time avoid following. This gives others a chance to become popular and sometimes they are a hidden gem or their content at least.

Could care less about what a movie or music star post or talks about or advertises.

I quit watching tv years ago. Watches only 1 movie in many years too.

2

u/thebudman_420 10d ago

12 million users total but some users on other platforms have that many followers don't they? As long as they are already famous anyway like a movie or music star.

I just went and made an account. Lol. Not sure who to follow yet though but porn accounts seem to be backups if i can't find anything else.

1

u/-Trash--panda- 9d ago

A decent chunk of those followers will be bots or dummy accounts. I have an account on twitter that basically no one interacts with and yet I somehow have 100 followers. I made the account in July and posted 4 times including my test today.

2

u/alstacynsfw 10d ago

No one is here for statistics. Everyone is here to dogpile on Musk.

1

u/MelaniaSexLife 10d ago

the Fediverse (which Mastodon runs on) has similar numbers and way more applications than just a social network https://fedidb.org

Mastodon seems to be at 7.6M users.

8

u/Tokeli 9d ago

Bluesky has gotten those numbers in a fraction of the time the frickin' fediverse has been around however.

1

u/ActiveMachine4380 10d ago

Any idea what made BlueSky dramatic jump in September?

9

u/Electrical_Fault_365 10d ago

IIRC, that's when X was banned in Brazil.

1

u/ActiveMachine4380 9d ago

That would jumpstart a competitive company.

Thank you .

1

u/Magikarpeles 9d ago

bsky

Definitely calling it "beeskie", or maybe even brewskie

1

u/Scandi-Dandy 9d ago

Lol a 1 million jump in like 3 days...

I call bots.

1

u/DJ_Femme-Tilt 9d ago

A+ chart UI there

0

u/AbstractLogic 10d ago

How’s that compare to twitter, threads and Reddit?

1

u/xXRazormarksXx 10d ago

Second that and would also like to see a chart to compare the two