Bluesky, the decentralized alternative to Twitter, experienced its largest influx of new users on September 19th. Over 42,000 new users joined the platform, making it the biggest signup day since its launch. Normally, Bluesky sees around 10,000 to 20,000 new signups per day. This surge in user growth comes after Elon Musk, during a livestream with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggested that he plans to charge all X (formerly known as Twitter) users a monthly fee to use the platform.
It is unclear whether Musk’s comments directly influenced the spike in new users for Bluesky, but the platform is seen as a direct alternative to X and is backed Twitter co-founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey. While Dorsey is not involved in the day-to-day operations of Bluesky, he sits on the board of directors. In fact, before Musk acquired Twitter, X had provided $13 million in funding to Bluesky to build a decentralized version of the platform.
Bluesky’s previous record-setting signup day was on July 3rd, when 32,325 new users joined. This occurred during the July 4th weekend in the US, when Musk implemented changes to Twitter that restricted content for non-subscribers. Rather than paying, many users opted to seek out alternative social media platforms.
It remains uncertain whether Musk will proceed with his plan to charge all X users for platform usage. However, the mere suggestion appears to be beneficial for Bluesky, as it continues to experience significant growth. As of now, Bluesky has surpassed 1.1 million total users.
Source: Mashable (no URL)
