Open supply Twitter-clone app Bluesky has introduced its newest app replace, with longer movies, a brand new chat requests filter, and extra language translation choices.
The principle replace is an extension of its video restrict, with customers now in a position to submit 3 minute lengthy clips within the app.
Up until now, Bluesky customers have been restricted to 1 minute movies hooked up to their posts (do they nonetheless name them “skeets”?), however to any extent further, with the most recent model of the app, you’ll have triple that capability.
Video has turn into a much bigger focus for the platform, because it has for each social app, with Bluesky additionally including a devoted video feed earlier within the 12 months, in addition to a video tab on person profiles.
As such, longer video uploads is a logical replace, which is able to increase its capability for video engagement.
Bluesky’s additionally added a brand new “Chat Requests” folder, the place DMs from customers you’re not linked to will go:
Customers will then be capable to settle for or reject these mysterious missives.
It’s additionally added a brand new profile mute possibility on posts, which is able to make it simpler to eliminate undesirable consideration:
“Faucet the three-dot menu and choose “Mute account” to mute immediately from a submit.”
Bluesky noticed a 17x enhance in user-submitted studies final 12 months, which aligns with its total utilization progress, however it additionally probably signifies that the workforce might want to discover extra management choices to cater to this side.
Lastly, it’s additionally added three new group translations: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Esperanto.
It’s nonetheless too laborious to say whether or not Bluesky goes to catch on in a big approach, and turn into an actual contender for the key social apps.
It undoubtedly has established a stable person base, with some 30 million lively customers, in keeping with the most recent monitoring knowledge, whereas it’s additionally seen large progress over the previous 12 months.
All of those are good indicators, with an increasing viewers that’s steadily rising momentum, bringing much more individuals to the app.
However nonetheless, 30 million is a good distance off of X (500m MAU) and Threads (320m MAU), and with out the community results of these greater apps, it’s tough to see how Bluesky goes to achieve the required upswing to essentially problem these different platforms.
It’s additionally price noting that Bluesky’s momentum is slowing. After gaining 10m further customers within the three months between September and November final 12 months (taking it to 20m MAU), it’s taken 4 months so as to add one other 10m customers.
So its progress continues to be regular, however it isn’t seeing the identical magnetism that different platforms have after reaching relative person counts, compounding these numbers by getting extra consideration.
That might additionally recommend that curiosity in Bluesky is peaking already, which might imply that it’s unlikely to get to even 100m customers. And with each X and Threads providing a extra expansive set of options, and linked to individuals’s established networks, there’s additionally no clear differentiator for the platform, apart from it being decentralized.
Which, truthfully, I don’t assume the overwhelming majority of potential customers care about. It’s a superb strategy, and there are particular advantages to shifting away from the billionaire-owned apps, and sustaining management of your data. However most common customers, in my expertise at the very least, don’t look into issues that deep. They simply wish to go surfing and join with their mates and pursuits.
If you may get these components into your app, then you definitely’re going to win, and that’s additionally why I don’t see Bluesky changing into a very viable, scalable possibility,
It’s a cool venture, for certain, and 30 million customers is important. However except there are extra main controversies that spark large backlash towards the massive gamers, the following degree of progress may very well be tough.
