Bluesky backlash misses the point

Summary

Bluesky is missing an opportunity to explain to people that its network is more than just its own Bluesky social app. In recent weeks, a number of headlines and posts have surfaced questioning whether Bluesky’s growth is declining, if the network has become too much of a left-leaning echo chamber, or if its users lack a sense of humor, among other charges. Investor Mark Cuban, who even financially backed Skylight, a video app built on Bluesky’s underlying protocol, AT Proto, complained this week that replies on Bluesky have become too hateful. “Engagement went from great convos on many topics, to agree with me or you are a nazi fascist,” he wrote in a post on Bluesky. That, he said, is “forcing” people to return to X. The replies on here may not be as racist as Twitter, but they damn sure are hateful. Talk AI: FU, AI sucks go awayTalk Business: Go away Talk Healthcare: Crickets. Engagement went from great convos on many topics, to agree with me or you are a nazi fascist We are forcing posts to X— Mark Cuban (@mcuban.bsky.social) 2025-06-08T20:18:22.924Z Naturally, X owner Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino have capitalized on this unrest, with the former posting that Bluesky is a “bunch of super judgy hall monitors” and the latter proclaiming that X is the “true” global town square. The debate around this topic is not surprising. Without a more direct push to showcase the wider network of apps built on the open protocol that Bluesky’s team spearheaded, it was only a matter of time before the Bluesky brand became pigeon-holed as the liberal and leftist alternative to X. That characterization of Bluesky, however, is not a complete picture of what the company has been building — but it could become a stumbling block toward its further growth if not corrected. It’s true that many of Bluesky’s initial users are those who abandoned X because they were unhappy with its new ownership under Musk and its accompanying right-wing shift. After the November elections in the U.S., ...