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Bluesky's science takeover: 70% of Nature poll respondents use platform
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00177-1NEWS
24 January 2025
Bluesky’s science takeover: 70% of Nature poll respondents use platform
Roughly 6,000 readers answered our poll, with many declaring that Bluesky was nicer, kinder and less antagonistic to science than X.
By Celeste Biever
Seventy per cent of Nature readers who responded to an online poll are using the social-media platform Bluesky, which works a lot like X (formerly Twitter) and whose popularity has soared in recent months, in particular since the November US election.
Although the survey is not statistically representative of Nature readers or the scientific community at large, it echoes recent enthusiasm for Bluesky among researchers and disillusionment with X. Of roughly 5,300 readers who responded to a question about X, 53% said they used to be on X but have now left (see ‘Mass exodus’).
“Bluesky is much better for science. There is much less toxicity, misinformation, and distractions,” wrote one respondent. “My feed is almost entirely scientists and I actually get updates on research that is relevant and timely,” wrote another.
Bluesky now has more than 27 million users and is broadly similar in functionality and user experience to X, which for a long time was a go-to platform for scientists to discuss and disseminate their work. X fell out of favour with some after entrepreneur Elon Musk purchased the tool in October 2022.
[..]
24 January 2025
Bluesky’s science takeover: 70% of Nature poll respondents use platform
Roughly 6,000 readers answered our poll, with many declaring that Bluesky was nicer, kinder and less antagonistic to science than X.
By Celeste Biever
Seventy per cent of Nature readers who responded to an online poll are using the social-media platform Bluesky, which works a lot like X (formerly Twitter) and whose popularity has soared in recent months, in particular since the November US election.
Although the survey is not statistically representative of Nature readers or the scientific community at large, it echoes recent enthusiasm for Bluesky among researchers and disillusionment with X. Of roughly 5,300 readers who responded to a question about X, 53% said they used to be on X but have now left (see ‘Mass exodus’).
“Bluesky is much better for science. There is much less toxicity, misinformation, and distractions,” wrote one respondent. “My feed is almost entirely scientists and I actually get updates on research that is relevant and timely,” wrote another.
Bluesky now has more than 27 million users and is broadly similar in functionality and user experience to X, which for a long time was a go-to platform for scientists to discuss and disseminate their work. X fell out of favour with some after entrepreneur Elon Musk purchased the tool in October 2022.
[..]
==============
https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.11605
Submitted on 20 Jan 2025 (v1), last revised 22 Jan 2025 (this version, v2)]
Bootstrapping Social Networks: Lessons from Bluesky Starter Packs
Leonhard Balduf, Saidu Sokoto, Onur Ascigil, Gareth Tyson, Ignacio Castro, Andrea Baronchelli, George Pavlou, Björn Scheuermann, Michał Król
View PDF
Microblogging is a crucial mode of online communication. However, launching a new microblogging platform remains challenging, largely due to network effects. This has resulted in entrenched (and undesirable) dominance by established players, such as X/Twitter. To overcome these network effects, Bluesky, an emerging microblogging platform, introduced starter packs -- curated lists of accounts that users can follow with a single click. We ask if starter packs have the potential to tackle the critical problem of social bootstrapping in new online social networks? This paper is the first to address this question: we asses whether starter packs have been indeed helpful in supporting Bluesky growth. Our dataset includes 25.05×106 users and 335.42×103 starter packs with 1.73×106 members, covering the entire lifecycle of Bluesky. We study the usage of these starter packs, their ability to drive network and activity growth, and their potential downsides. We also quantify the benefits of starter packs for members and creators on user visibility and activity while identifying potential challenges. By evaluating starter packs' effectiveness and limitations, we contribute to the broader discourse on platform growth strategies and competitive innovation in the social media landscape.
[...]
Bootstrapping Social Networks: Lessons from Bluesky Starter Packs
Leonhard Balduf, Saidu Sokoto, Onur Ascigil, Gareth Tyson, Ignacio Castro, Andrea Baronchelli, George Pavlou, Björn Scheuermann, Michał Król
View PDF
Microblogging is a crucial mode of online communication. However, launching a new microblogging platform remains challenging, largely due to network effects. This has resulted in entrenched (and undesirable) dominance by established players, such as X/Twitter. To overcome these network effects, Bluesky, an emerging microblogging platform, introduced starter packs -- curated lists of accounts that users can follow with a single click. We ask if starter packs have the potential to tackle the critical problem of social bootstrapping in new online social networks? This paper is the first to address this question: we asses whether starter packs have been indeed helpful in supporting Bluesky growth. Our dataset includes 25.05×106 users and 335.42×103 starter packs with 1.73×106 members, covering the entire lifecycle of Bluesky. We study the usage of these starter packs, their ability to drive network and activity growth, and their potential downsides. We also quantify the benefits of starter packs for members and creators on user visibility and activity while identifying potential challenges. By evaluating starter packs' effectiveness and limitations, we contribute to the broader discourse on platform growth strategies and competitive innovation in the social media landscape.
[...]