Bluesky (5 Viewers)

[Maxp]

So, who should I follow on this Bluesky thingy?

 

[0rion]

I don't even understand the attraction to social media. It's all I can do to keep up with giving a crap about the people's lives I know in the real world much less people I don't know or barely know online. Tried Facebook decades ago and quickly learned there's a reason I hadn't talked to some people for years. I also don't care if they know what I've been up to....I prefer they don't. I just don't get or understand social media.

 

[HoustonGold]

I thought this thread was going to be about E.L.O.

 

[kcirdor]

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Uh oh … Here’s to hoping that they embark on a hiring spree tout suite.. if they haven’t already .. in fairness, I haven’t read the link, i am only reposting ….


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ETA Ok so i read the link and of course they are hiring but seemingly have a long way to go.. expect glitches over the coming months i guess ….

Bluesky CEO reveals they have just 20 employees despite passing 21,000,000 users

Twitter replacement Bluesky has revealed that, despite passing 21,000,000 users, the team only has 20 employees in total

www.uniladtech.com

 

[Eeyore]

So, who should I follow on this Bluesky thingy?

I follow every artist/writer that I find. There's a lot on there. Most of it isn't what I like but it costs me nothing to help them monetize the platform and encourage them to keep going.

I follow most people though. It's full of good people.

 

[St. Widge]

I don't even understand the attraction to social media. It's all I can do to keep up with giving a crap about the people's lives I know in the real world much less people I don't know or barely know online. Tried Facebook decades ago and quickly learned there's a reason I hadn't talked to some people for years. I also don't care if they know what I've been up to....I prefer they don't. I just don't get or understand social media.

Facebook and Twitter/X/BlueSky are not the same. All the "social media" platforms really have their own niche and are variously useful depending on what you are looking for.

I have a Facebook account, but have never really used Facebook. But, as I understand it, Facebook is theoretically for connecting with family, friends, and casual acquaintances. Although over the years it has become more about sharing memes and news. (Often misleading or fake news.)

For me, Twitter/X/BlueSky is about having a central location to get news, memes, and pop culture. I mostly use it to get sports and video game news along with memes and other funny stuff. But also some regular news stuff and weather. You could theoretically get that stuff from the various sources that post it, but I find that it works best as an aggregator of information. But not everyone uses it in the same way. And the problem with Twitter is that lots of the legit sources of information are moving away do the the lack of moderation, weird Bule check scheme, and the fact that the Twitter algorithm now throttles any posts with links in them limiting who sees them. That means that legit news sources and writers have less reason to use it because they get less engagement.

 

[nolaspe]

*whistle

Yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct.

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I guess I just developed immunity to all the terrible things about Twitter because, post-Elon, the parts I've always liked about it are still there and the parts I hate are still there. Some of the mechanics have changed but I dont quite understand all the fuss - outside of Elon's political activity. If you don't want to support him in any way, I get it, but to me Twitter is still pretty much Twitter. Er, X.

 

[Madmarsha]

(Often misleading or fake news.)

These words have become so universally undefinable, they don't register to me anymore.

 

[St. Widge]

These words have become so universally undefinable, they don't register to me anymore.

And that's the really sad part of it all. Nobody knows what is real and what isn't anymore. It should be clear to everyone what is fake or misleading and nobody should have trouble universally defining it, but we have been gaslit so much that people can't tell anymore and it's nearly impossible to truly fact check anything because the sources for fact checking have been gaslit too.

And frankly, the problem is us. People believed everything they read or saw for so long it was easy for the gaslighters to come in and make us all believe anything they want. And, we all like to believe that we are the exception and we can't be fooled but we all can and we all are.

 

[St. Widge]

I guess I just developed immunity to all the terrible things about Twitter because, post-Elon, the parts I've always liked about it are still there and the parts I hate are still there. Some of the mechanics have changed but I dont quite understand all the fuss - outside of Elon's political activity. If you don't want to support him in any way, I get it, but to me Twitter is still pretty much Twitter. Er, X.

I honestly haven't noticed much difference either other than a massive number of women with Fans only links in their bios suddenly starting to follow me. I don't see all the horrible stuff that others do. But, I also carefully curate who I follow and immediately block anyone that I think is an idiot. And I think a lot of people are idiots.

Plus, I mostly follow sports, entertainment, and Video game stuff so I don't see the nasty side of things.

But, I think it's different if you are a person that creates and distributes content and has a large follower base. I also think the major difference is that many outlets are starting to move away from Twitter because there is no moderation of people getting nasty in replies and the fact that Elon has changed the algorithm to reduce engagement for people putting links in their posts. I know he did it because he wants "X" to be the source of all the news on the site and not have links to outside sources amplified, but the result is going to be legit sources no longer using the site and more and more information being curated by Elon and those who paid for blue check marks. And, considering Elon's recent decision to dive deeply into politics, that's a bit of an issue if you would prefer a more neutral source.

But, sure, for now it's not that much different for the average user.

And, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't created a BlueSky account yet. I probably will, but so far the sneak peak I have gotten from viewing without an account has given me the impression that it is more or less an echo chamber for "the other side" to Twitter which isn't really what I'm looking for. It's got too much of a be nice or leave vibe right now and not enough real balanced discussion. But I'm sure others would disagree.

 

[Madmarsha]

And that's the really sad part of it all. Nobody knows what is real and what isn't anymore. It should be clear to everyone what is fake or misleading and nobody should have trouble universally defining it, but we have been gaslit so much that people can't tell anymore and it's nearly impossible to truly fact check anything because the sources for fact checking have been gaslit too.

And frankly, the problem is us. People believed everything they read or saw for so long it was easy for the gaslighters to come in and make us all believe anything they want. And, we all like to believe that we are the exception and we can't be fooled but we all can and we all are.

I mean, that's true but I am laughing at the ignorance of the "legacy media" (whatever the heck THAT even is these days) as they struggle with how irrelevant they are becoming. For people in the business of media to be so slow to realize what the rest of us do, that people get their "news" online from podcasts and social media and not from cable or TV news anymore, is the problem. We listened to the newscasters for years because we trusted that they knew more than we, the plebeians, knew. So the problem, more and more, seems to be "them".

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

These words have become so universally undefinable, they don't register to me anymore.

Sure there has (and always will be) a deliberate Newspeak-ing of information
And the part of the information cycle who weaponize that want citizens to throw hands up in confusion/exasperation
Which is why it’s even more important for us to suss out verified information from propagandist bs

 

[Icon]

I guess I just developed immunity to all the terrible things about Twitter because, post-Elon, the parts I've always liked about it are still there and the parts I hate are still there. Some of the mechanics have changed but I dont quite understand all the fuss - outside of Elon's political activity. If you don't want to support him in any way, I get it, but to me Twitter is still pretty much Twitter. Er, X.

There are those out there who consider deleting X / joining Bluesky to be a form of peaceful protest over the results of November 5th, for whatever coping mechanism reason. If things had gone the other way, most people still wouldn't know what Bluesky is.