Bluesky introduces Trending Topics in beta and continues to grow despite the bans

Bluesky, the decentralized social platform, has announced a new “Trending Topics” feature as a Christmas gift, currently available only in beta. This tool, similar to its rival Twitter, can be turned on or off in the “Content and Media” section within Settings. Currently, it only works in English, although more languages are planned to be included in the future. In the desktop version, Trending Topics appear in the right sidebar, while in the mobile app they are accessible from the search button. The feature also respects the words muted by users, so that it does not […]

Bluesky, the decentralized social platform, has announced a Christmas gift: a new “Trending Topics” feature, currently available only in beta. This tool, similar to its rival Twitter, can be turned on or off in the “Content and Media” section within Settings. Currently, it only works in English, although more languages are planned to be included in the future.

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In the desktop version, the Trending Topics appear in the right sidebar, while in the mobile app they are accessible from the search button. The feature also respects the words muted by users, so they do not appear in this section unless desired.

Merry Christmas from us to you ??? We launched Trending Topics today, and you can find it by tapping the search icon on the bottom bar of the app or the right sidebar on desktop.

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— Bluesky (@bsky.app) 26 de diciembre de 2024, 2:09

With almost 26 million users, Bluesky is not only working on new features but is also dealing with all kinds of issues, including the increased influx of fake accounts and identity theft. Globally, the social network has been banned by governments such as China and Pakistan, which censored the platform at different times in 2024. Additionally, it has been criticized by politicians and conservative users following the electoral victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. elections.

Despite the challenges it is currently facing, the platform has grown rapidly, attracting millions of users dissatisfied with the current Twitter under Elon Musk.

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Bluesky is developing a subscription model with premium features: here’s how it could look

Bluesky, one of Twitter’s main rivals, has announced that it is developing a subscription model called Bluesky+. This project, first mentioned in October, has shown the first indications of its features in a mockup published on GitHub and detected by TechCrunch. However, the company warns that these elements are just prototypes and may change before launch. Among the possible features of Bluesky+ are uploading higher quality videos, profile customization with colors and frames for avatars, custom app icons, profile badges, translations in posts, post analytics, and folders […]

Bluesky, one of the main rivals of X (formerly Twitter), has announced that it is developing a subscription model called Bluesky+. This project, first mentioned in October, has shown the first indications of its features in a mockup published on GitHub and detected by TechCrunch. However, the company warns that these elements are just prototypes and may change before launch.

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Among the possible features of Bluesky+ are the upload of higher quality videos, profile customization with colors and frames for avatars, custom app icons, profile badges, translations in posts, post analytics, and bookmark folders. Notably, the possible inclusion of profile verification as a paid feature stands out, a measure that, according to Bluesky, could be very different from verification on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) or Meta.

The mockup also suggests prices of $8 monthly or $72 annually, although they are not final. Dan Abramov, an engineer at Bluesky, has emphasized that these details do not represent the final product. On the other hand, the CEO of Bluesky, Jay Graber, mentioned a few days ago other possible revenue models, such as the sale of domain names, personalized algorithms, or even the introduction of advertising, one of the users’ biggest fears.

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Bluesky could have problems with the European Union soon

Bluesky, the decentralized social network dubbed by many (including myself) as “the good Twitter,” could face issues in the future with the European Commission if it does not provide information about its user base and legal headquarters. According to the Financial Times, the Commission’s spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, explained that all platforms operating in the European Union must include information on their website about the number of users in the region and their legal location. However, Bluesky does not currently display this information. Regnier also noted that the Commission has not yet directly contacted Bluesky. […]

Bluesky, the decentralized social network dubbed by many (myself included) as “the good Twitter,” could face issues in the future with the European Commission if it does not provide information about its user base and legal headquarters. According to Financial Times, the Commission’s spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, explained that all platforms operating in the European Union must include on their website information about the number of users in the region and their legal location. However, Bluesky does not currently display this information.

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Regnier also noted that the Commission has not yet directly contacted Bluesky. Instead, it has asked the 27 national governments of the EU to investigate if they can find any indication of the company’s compliance with local regulations.

Although EU laws would not affect Bluesky in this regard until they reach 45 million monthly users in the EU, the platform is gaining ground at a rapid pace. During the U.S. elections, and after the victory of Donald Trump, the use of Bluesky skyrocketed in the United States and the United Kingdom, reaching 3.5 million daily users. This narrowed the gap with Threads, the app from Meta, which went from having five times the daily users of Bluesky to only 1.5 times more.

The growth of Bluesky is also due to its decision in February to remove invitations for registration (a measure initially implemented to ensure gradual growth), which attracted 800,000 new users in a single day. Before this opening, invitations were even being sold for $400 on platforms like eBay, demonstrating users’ interest in its decentralized and open-source model.

Founded in 2019, Bluesky continues to seek its place in a market dominated by giants like Meta, adopting pro-user strategies such as providing greater personalization of the experience, not including advertising, and pursuing those who use the social network to spread hate and misinformation. At the time of writing, the platform has a total of 22,677,507 users. Will it surpass 30 million before the end of the year?

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