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Bluesky, a rising social media platform competing with X (formerly known as Twitter), has experienced significant user growth, particularly after the recent US presidential election. The app soared to the top of the Apple App Store's US chart, with its user base doubling in just three months. Bluesky reported a notable 1 million new sign-ups in just one week, pushing its total user count past 15 million. The platform’s surge can be attributed to growing dissatisfaction with X, where many users are disillusioned with Elon Musk’s controversial changes, including his decision to reinstate banned accounts, cut back on moderation, and allow paid verification. These actions, alongside a shift towards right-wing political content, have sparked frustration and led to a decline in X’s ad revenue and user engagement.
In response to these changes, several prominent journalists have announced their departure from X in favor of Bluesky, including figures from The New York Times, The Atlantic, and former CNN anchor Don Lemon. X, despite its challenges, remains the larger platform, with spikes in user activity during the election period. However, the recent rise in Bluesky’s engagement suggests that it is attracting more users and generating more interaction, even though it has a smaller user base overall. Some users have reported receiving more engagement on their posts on Bluesky than on X, even when they have larger followings on X. This increase in Bluesky’s popularity signals the platform’s growing potential, although it is still far from surpassing X in terms of sheer user numbers.
Despite Bluesky’s success, X continues to maintain a large and active user base, with CEO Linda Yaccarino stating that the platform is seeing its highest level of activity to date. However, Musk’s approach, which has made X a platform for more politically charged content, has alienated certain groups of users. While some users are abandoning X in favor of Bluesky, Musk's influence over the political landscape and his financial gains from Tesla and SpaceX indicate that he may not be overly concerned with losing users. In fact, Musk’s ties to former President Trump and his significant wealth boost suggest that, even as X’s ad revenue and user engagement decline, his broader financial success continues to overshadow these challenges.
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