- 14 Mar 2002
- 21,050
- 18,904
Has anyone signed up for Bluesky yet, the latest alternative to X?
Two years ago, many Twitter users, unhappy with Elon Musk's free speech absolutism and some of his more controversial decisions, such as reinstating banned accounts, moved to Mastodon. For several reasons, Mastodon never took off. Bluesky started as a research project within Twitter in 2019, led by then-CEO Jack Dorsey. The goal was to create a decentralized social network to give users more control over their data and experience. In 2021, Bluesky became an independent company, developing the AT Protocol, a communication protocol for decentralized social networking. It launched as an invite-only beta in February 2023 and opened publicly in February 2024.
Though slightly neglected, JREF has its own Mastodon page and - since last week - a Bluesky account:
mstdn.jp
bsky.app
JREF has FB and Twitter accounts, too, but we have never used them extensively.
Recent data suggests that Bluesky and other X alternatives are gaining popularity among Japanese social media users, indicating a potential long-term trend. According to Similarweb, the number of active Android users on Bluesky in Japan quintupled over the past year, while X's user number declined. Moreover, daily active user numbers on Bluesky continued to rise in the first half of November.
Analysts and academics believe that the U.S. presidential election and its associated polarization likely had little impact on Bluesky's surge in popularity in Japan. Instead, functionality and privacy concerns may have played a more significant role. Jeffrey J. Hall, a researcher specializing in Japanese politics, nationalism, and pop culture, argues that most Japanese users are not overly concerned with U.S. cultural conflicts. He suggests that changes in terms of service related to AI, modifications to the block feature, and the proliferation of bot-like accounts on X have negatively impacted Japanese users' perception of the platform.
Emily Liu, the manager of growth, communications, and partnerships at Bluesky Social, stated that Japanese users were among the earliest adopters of Bluesky and continue to form one of the largest user communities. She also mentioned that the first Bluesky meetup was held in Japan.
Liu added that the Japanese community in Bluesky continues to expand. She noted that the company does not have a physical office in Japan and relies on a remote workforce. Ryoko Ichimura, the international communications manager in Japan for Meta's Instagram, which operates Threads, said that Japan is one of the most active countries for Threads and is witnessing strong growth.
www.japantimes.co.jp
Last week, the Guardian explained why they would no longer use Twitter, sorry, X:
www.theguardian.com
Two years ago, many Twitter users, unhappy with Elon Musk's free speech absolutism and some of his more controversial decisions, such as reinstating banned accounts, moved to Mastodon. For several reasons, Mastodon never took off. Bluesky started as a research project within Twitter in 2019, led by then-CEO Jack Dorsey. The goal was to create a decentralized social network to give users more control over their data and experience. In 2021, Bluesky became an independent company, developing the AT Protocol, a communication protocol for decentralized social networking. It launched as an invite-only beta in February 2023 and opened publicly in February 2024.
Though slightly neglected, JREF has its own Mastodon page and - since last week - a Bluesky account:
Japan Reference (JREF) (@[email protected])
29 Posts, 15 Following, 22 Followers · Dealing with All Things Japanese since 1999.
mstdn.jp
Japan Reference (JREF) (@jref.bsky.social)
Dealing with all Things Japanese since 1999. https://jref.com
bsky.app
JREF has FB and Twitter accounts, too, but we have never used them extensively.
Recent data suggests that Bluesky and other X alternatives are gaining popularity among Japanese social media users, indicating a potential long-term trend. According to Similarweb, the number of active Android users on Bluesky in Japan quintupled over the past year, while X's user number declined. Moreover, daily active user numbers on Bluesky continued to rise in the first half of November.
Analysts and academics believe that the U.S. presidential election and its associated polarization likely had little impact on Bluesky's surge in popularity in Japan. Instead, functionality and privacy concerns may have played a more significant role. Jeffrey J. Hall, a researcher specializing in Japanese politics, nationalism, and pop culture, argues that most Japanese users are not overly concerned with U.S. cultural conflicts. He suggests that changes in terms of service related to AI, modifications to the block feature, and the proliferation of bot-like accounts on X have negatively impacted Japanese users' perception of the platform.
Emily Liu, the manager of growth, communications, and partnerships at Bluesky Social, stated that Japanese users were among the earliest adopters of Bluesky and continue to form one of the largest user communities. She also mentioned that the first Bluesky meetup was held in Japan.
Liu added that the Japanese community in Bluesky continues to expand. She noted that the company does not have a physical office in Japan and relies on a remote workforce. Ryoko Ichimura, the international communications manager in Japan for Meta's Instagram, which operates Threads, said that Japan is one of the most active countries for Threads and is witnessing strong growth.
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
Average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October, while figures for X were down over that time.
Last week, the Guardian explained why they would no longer use Twitter, sorry, X:
Guardian will no longer post on Elon Musk’s X from its official accounts
Platform’s coverage of US election crystallised longstanding concerns about its content, says Guardian
