Bluesky — the Twitter-esque social network that has suddenly started attracting refugees from Elon Musk’s X — had its start when Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey asked software engineer Jay Graber to introduce federation to Twitter. She told him she couldn’t, but she could create a new social network based on a new federation protocol called AT, a decentralized foundation for public social media. At first, Bluesky was an invitation-only network. Many of those who scored invites were underwhelmed. But a surge of migrations from X has reinvigorated Bluesky, which is also adding features as a further incentive for people to join and stay. In this short midweek episode, Neville and Shel discuss Bluesky’s potential and whether communicators should consider establishing a presence for their companies or clients.

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Links from this episode:

• Bluesky’s Boom: Are We Watching the Next Big Shift? – NevilleHobson .com
• Journalists Are Leaving X for Bluesky. Will They Stay There?
• Bluesky Is Growing Up. Maybe Too Fast.
• Benefits of an open network
• Inside Bluesky’s big growth surge
• Mass X-odus: professionals desert Elon Musk’s network
• Number of users on Bluesky
• How Bluesky, Alternative to X and Facebook, Is Handling Explosive Growth
• Journalists Are Leaving X for Bluesky. Will They Stay There?
• Like ‘old Twitter’: The scientific community finds a new home on Bluesky
• CIPR to Cease Engagement on Twitter
• PRovoke Media Will No Longer Post on X
• ‘Growing space for connection’ – why charities are finally moving to Bluesky
• X-odus: Should Your Company Leave X?

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, December 2.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. To obtain the credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request them in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are Shel’s and Neville’s and do not reflect the views of their employers and/or clients.

Complete show notes, including transcript, are available here.

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