Why are creators and artists moving to Bluesky?

In this article, I’ll cover the basics of what you should know about the newest social media platform, Bluesky, and particularly from the viewpoint of creators and artists.

1. What is Bluesky?
2. How do you use Bluesky?
3. Should you use Bluesky if you are a creator or an artist?
4. 3 reasons to consider Bluesky as a creator or an artist

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is an open social media network that runs on a decentralized protocol, meaning that there isn’t one organisation controlling the system and outsider developers are allowed to build improvements. 

You can share text, images and videos in a short format so there’s nothing new there but the platform offers an algorithmic choice for users which is pretty interesting. It means that, besides Bluesky’s default chronological feed, users can make their own customized feeds moderating and curating the content they want to see. 

Another feature even Meta was inspired by is called “starter packs”. Any user can create a starter pack, their curated list of Bluesky accounts, that they recommend others to follow (or block). Using a starter pack can be practical for those who are new on the platform and are looking for accounts they might be interested in at the start plus, it takes only one click to “join the conversation” this way..

Bluesky is also one of X’s (or Twitter’s) biggest competitors that managed to collect over 3 million sign-ups in its first closed beta-state year. The platform’s visual and functional resemblance is not a coincidence since Bluesky was conceptualized by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey amongst others, although he’s no longer on its board.

Since February 2024, the platform has been open to anyone who wants to register an account and it has reached 20 million users by November 2024.

How do you use Bluesky?

First, you register by adding a username or handle that will appear as @username.bsky.social but additionally, you can choose a display name. You can also turn your domain name into a username, and although its approach seems flawed at the moment, Bluesky highly recommends it for big organizations and high-profile individuals. You need to be a bit techy to set it up — details are in the embedded link above but you can also send us a message on Bluesky if you need some help). T

By clicking on the New post button, you can create a post that is 256 characters long. Images and videos are welcome, also with some limits. For example, a video can be up to 60 seconds long and one post can only include one video for now.

You have the common basics like posting and commenting, the option to reshare content and search for other users and topics, but you also have unique features such as the above-mentioned starter packs and anti-toxicity features like hiding replies to avoid harassment or priority notification filters to bring some more balance into your Bluesky presence.

All in all, if you’re interested, start with this: create an account, polish your profile with a nice profile picture, catchy bio and perhaps a cover image, then search for users and even try out starter packs (you can find a bunch of starter packs here) — or wander around on your own and get the feel of Bluesky on your own terms. 

You’ll quickly figure out how you want to curate and moderate your feed and how will it work the best for you if you want to build your awareness as a creator and possibly boost your sales, too.

Should you try Bluesky if you are a creator or an artist? 

First, let’s look at the experiences of those in the creator community who are already there and put the platform to the test. Here’s what some of them said:

Now, these are just a couple of opinions and many also mention areas for improvement and the amount of follow-backs or level of engagement one can get will vary depending on a few factors. 

However, I’d rather say to go and try it, instead of keeping away and also keeping yourself from something that can be a good opportunity to spread the news about you and your art and all the things you create—and on such a decently designed and run platform. What do I mean by decent? Read on.

3 reasons to consider Bluesky as a creator or an artist

1. No gen AI problem

Let’s get this out of the way right now. As it was posted and confirmed on the official Bluesky account, they have no intent of training generative AI on creators’ content that is shared on the platform. It’s worth knowing though that we’re still talking about a digital platform so outside developers and their systems that don’t have such clean thoughts could scrape data from it. Check out our guide on how you can protect your art from AI.

Nevertheless, at the moment, this AI policy and practice is really the best a platform can do and it’s something that shows respect to artists and creators. Well done so far, Bluesky.

2. It might be easier to get attention in these early days

This is a strong ‘might’. As mentioned above, so many factors should be considered here, and the 20m+ users on the platform already is not a very small number but it’s still nowhere compared to 275 million monthly active users of Threads, for example. 

So I’d still say that there is room for you in there and it’s always easier to build a following on a platform in its early days than later on when it gets busier by the second. 

If you are a smaller creator, definitely give it a try and see if you can achieve more here than on the other, older platforms, such as Instagram or YouTube, where it’s more difficult to stand out from the crowd when you’re starting your business.

3. Your access to followers (and customers) should be safe

I wrote about platform risk here in the past and it’s something I might bring up from time to time again because we at TC’D all think that you should never leave all your eggs in one basket. Don’t put all your efforts into one platform. Don’t build a following and group of buyers on only one platform. If you lose access to the site and them, what then? 

The good news about Bluesky is that they have thought of this, too: 

“With the AT Protocol, you can move your account from one provider to another without losing any of your data or social graph.”

What does this mean? 

AT Protocol is the open API system Bluesky runs on and if there is another platform that uses the same protocol, you have the ability to carry your followers and your content to it. If you’d like to know more about how it works, here’s a bit techy video that explains the basics. 

Until then though, it’s best to be safe. Be active at least on one channel where you own the database of followers, subscribers and potential or existing customers.

Ready to fly? 🦋

The Bluesky logo is a butterfly, hence my little wordplay here. It obviously fits the name too, so well done on that simple trick, Bluesky team. 

This is mainly an intro article to Bluesky, most of all a conversation-starter, and perhaps a content piece to nudge you a little to go and try it. 

We know that creators are tired of hopping from one platform to another but like it or not, this is how the world operates today. All businesses come with challenges and hardships, and especially for smaller creators, one of them is to try and test the different platforms that will help them create the life they want by making a name for themselves and selling their art and any piece they make.

Look at Bluesky as another opportunity that may fly you to the moon. 🌛

(Yes, I’ll stop with the aerial metaphors before I even start. ☁️)

Oh, and give The Creators’ Diary Bluesky account a follow! We’ll follow you back!

_{Featured image’s source: Bluesky Press Kit}