Jack Dorsey Backed Decentralized Social Network Bluesky Has People’s Attention

Although Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and similar platforms are the most popularized examples, there are social network platforms everywhere. Each one of them contains unique features and caters to a specific audience. And now, the offering backed by Jack Dorsey, Bluesky, is joining the mix, selling itself as a decentralized social network.

Bluesky was founded in 2019, but it is finally launching its beta for its Bluesky Social app. Since the recent announcement, signups have skyrocketed, with potential users swarming to join the app’s waitlist. The company announced via Twitter that it received 30,000 signups in a 48-hour period.

Following the announcement, the company said that it would be “rolling out invites to the private beta in stages” due to “overwhelming interest.”

But where did all of the interest originate?

Some of it came from the involvement of Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey, who is backing the decentralized social network. However, much of the interest also comes from Bluesky’s goal, which is to build a “social internet” that offers users freedom. It also plans to help users avoid data silos, which are all too common in internet applications of all sorts.

The central part of making that happen is the Authenticated Transport Protocol, also known as the AT Protocol. It is described on Bluesky’s website as “a new foundation for social networking which gives creators independence from platforms, developers the freedom to build, and users a choice in their experience.”

What does that mean? Well, for starters, it means making social media open-source. It also means enabling users to interact with different applications from a single ecosystem. But there is more to it than that.

The decentralized communication system, which is also termed a “federated network,” makes it possible for many sites to support the same network. Moreover, Bluesky has claimed that the system will create a global ID for users. The ID will then exist on multiple platforms thanks to the protocol model.

The result of the global IDs would be platforms operating on top of each other without a problem. One example of this is Instagram running inside TikTok.

That is still just scratching the surface. Freedom is a central theme of decentralized applications, and Bluesky is offering users the chance to control something shrouded in mystery everywhere else — the algorithm.

The AT Protocol promises to give control to the users with “algorithmic choice,” which will completely place their experience in the hands of each individual user. Essentially, the amount of a certain type of content a user receives will be up to them, along with where it originates.

It might not sound like something revolutionary, but many people are unsatisfied with existing social networks, and a lot of the discontent comes from advertisements and the content forced upon them by platforms.

Of course, some type of algorithm is necessary to curate what users see, but many find company-controlled algorithms to be divided and sources of misinformation. User-controlled algorithms offer a solution, though it is uncertain how effective it will be.

Although Jack Dorsey does not have direct control over Bluesky, he has shown his support for the decentralized social network on Twitter. But the true test will come with the official opening of the beta. After all, with so many people eager for something fresh, the reactions will surely come through loud and clear.