Bluesky, one of several competitors to the company formerly known as Twitter, X, has climbed to the No. 1 spot on the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store’s US chart this week as users increasingly decamp from Elon Musk’s platform.
Renewed criticism of X
The surge follows Musk’s prominent involvement in the US presidential election and flagrant support of the ex-president in the lead-up, which has spurred renewed criticism of the ‘town square’ platform’s direction.
Changes Musk made following his October 2022 acquisition of the platform include cuts to content moderation, the restoration of banned accounts, the proliferation of hate speech and changes to its verification system, which have collectively eroded trust in the platform.
Bluesky has watched its user base double in just three months, as disaffected former X users converge on the platform to lick their wounds in the wake of the election.
The platform added more than one million sign-ups in the past week alone and has surpassed 15 million users.
Mass exodus
High-profile exits from X include prominent journalists and organisations such as The Guardian announcing moves to other platforms.
Recent data from analytics firms shows mixed trends: X saw a significant spike in activity around election day, but daily active user counts have since levelled off.
Bluesky, on the other hand, has maintained its post-election momentum, with daily users up by 28% in the past week.
Users retreat to silos
While Bluesky’s rise suggests dissatisfaction with X is growing, there’s no reason to believe the platform can be easily replaced.
Bluesky is by no means the only challenger to X – indeed, the incoming president has his own social media concern, Truth Social, which attracts users whose views are the polar opposite of the Bluesky clientele’s.
And the proliferation of platforms divided along identity and political lines will surely mean that social media users remain even more siloed at a time when disinformation is rife – and users don’t rely upon the same basic set of facts.
X can afford to shed users
What’s more, X has a large enough cash runway to weather a raft of competitor launches and controversies, keeping its relevance by dint of its massive scale.
Despite Bluesky’s rapid growth, X still boasts a user base that dwarfs the newcomer.
For many, the platform’s reach and virality remain unmatched, even as engagement for some users appears to falter.
At any rate, for Musk, X’s challenges seem to be secondary to his broader goals.
His outspoken support for Trump has landed him an official role in the incoming administration and afforded him unmatched political influence.
This and a $26.5 billion jump in his personal wealth post-election will no doubt confirm for Musk that his decision to take over Twitter was worth the platform’s rocky fortunes – such as declining advertising revenue and user retention – since then.