rewrite this title in spanish Threads Maintains Growth Momentum, as X and Bluesky See Slower Take-Up
rewrite With Threads passing its 20 month mark recently, and amid ongoing discussion about the potential for the app’s growth, and the relative decline of the platform formerly known as Twitter, it’s worth checking in on exactly where the real-time social market is at, and what kind of growth Threads, X, and Bluesky are currently seeing.
So, is Threads still on track to defeat X?
Well, definitely its user growth momentum is more significant: As you can see in this chart, since launching in July 2023, Threads has seen steadily accelerating growth, with the app now up to 320 million monthly active users. Threads is also seeing strong download momentum, and the signs do suggest that Threads is on track to exceed 400 million users this year.
Though that would still leave it a fair way off of X, which, as of last month, is now claiming 600 million active users. Which is a significant audience, but as you can see, X has only added around 50 million users in the last year, versus 200 million on Threads. So Threads’ growth rate is significantly higher, which makes sense, as it’s the newer of the two, but it also bodes well, at this stage, for its acceleration in the longer-term race. But based on these figures, Threads is unlikely to catch X this year. That is unless the app gains some significant growth momentum, and with Threads putting a bigger focus on sports and real-time content of late (sports are the most discussed topic on X), that’s also a possibility. Bluesky is also still seeing steady growth momentum, though it remains a long way off the other two. Bluesky went from 5 million users in February last year, to 35 million now, and it’s also added 5 million more in the first four months of this year. So people are still signing up, though its growth momentum has slowed from the rapid acceleration it saw in the last quarter of 2024, when it was adding an extra 5 million per month for four four-month stretch.
That could suggest that Bluesky’s momentum is now gone, leaving X and Threads to battle it out for supremacy, though a misstep from either will likely see Bluesky’s growth get another shot in the arm at some stage. (Also, Mastodon, the other great decentralized social hope, is currently sitting on less than 900k active users).
But really, in terms of mass appeal, we’re talking X versus Threads, and based on the growth charts, Threads is seemingly on track to win out, long term, with X’s growth slowing significantly, and even that growth data being somewhat questionable. Because X has repeatedly shared conflicting usage data, so it’s hard to know if it’s reported figures are actually correct.
But going on what Elon and Co. are saying, Threads should still be on track to exceed X’s monthly user counts by the end of next year, though a shift in momentum could see it happen even faster.
Unless Meta makes a mistake, and it loses the thread. in spanish
rewrite this title in spanish Bluesky Adds Longer Videos, DM Requests Folder
rewrite Open source Twitter-clone app Bluesky has announced its latest app update, with longer videos, a new chat requests filter, and additional language translation options.
The main update is an extension of its video limit, with users now able to post 3 minute long clips in the app. Up till now, Bluesky users have been limited to 1 minute videos attached to their posts (do they still call them “skeets”?), but from now on, with the latest version of the app, you’ll have triple that capacity.
Video has become a bigger focus for the platform, as it has for every social app, with Bluesky also adding a dedicated video feed earlier in the year, as well as a video tab on user profiles.
As such, longer video uploads is a logical update, which will expand its capacity for video engagement.
Bluesky’s also added a new “Chat Requests” folder, where DMs from users you’re not connected to will go: Users will then be able to accept or reject these mysterious missives.
It’s also added a new profile mute option on posts, which will make it easier to get rid of unwanted attention:
“Tap the three-dot menu and select «Mute account» to mute directly from a post.” Bluesky saw a 17x increase in user-submitted reports last year, which aligns with its overall usage growth, but it also likely means that the team will need to explore more control options to cater to this aspect.
Finally, it’s also added three new community translations: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Esperanto.
It’s still too hard to say whether Bluesky is going to catch on in a significant way, and become a real contender for the major social apps.
It definitely has established a solid user base, with some 30 million active users, according to the latest tracking data, while it’s also seen massive growth over the past year. All of these are good indicators, with an expanding audience that’s steadily growing momentum, bringing even more people to the app.
But still, 30 million is a long way off of X (500m MAU) and Threads (320m MAU), and without the network effects of those bigger apps, it’s difficult to see how Bluesky is going to gain the necessary upswing to really challenge those other platforms. It’s also worth noting that Bluesky’s momentum is slowing. After gaining 10m additional users in the three months between September and November last year (taking it to 20m MAU), it’s taken four months to add another 10m users.
So its growth is still steady, but it isn’t seeing the same magnetism that other platforms have after reaching relative user counts, compounding those numbers by getting more attention.
That could also suggest that interest in Bluesky is peaking already, which would mean that it’s unlikely to get to even 100m users. And with both X and Threads offering a more expansive set of features, and linked to people’s established networks, there’s also no clear differentiator for the platform, other than it being decentralized. Which, honestly, I don’t think the vast majority of potential users care about. It’s a good approach, and there are definite benefits to shifting away from the billionaire-owned apps, and maintaining control of your information. But most regular users, in my experience at least, don’t look into things that deep. They just want to log on and connect with their friends and interests.
If you can get those elements into your app, then you’re going to win, and that’s also why I don’t see Bluesky becoming a truly viable, scalable option,
It’s a cool project, for sure, and 30 million users is significant. But unless there are more major controversies that spark big backlash against the big players, the next level of growth could be difficult. in spanish
rewrite this title in spanish Bluesky Adds Trending Topics, Exceeds 25 Million Users
rewrite While you’re busy working out your Threads strategy, Bluesky is also steadily rising, and adding new features to align with its audience demands.
Just before Christmas, Bluesky launched its own version of Trending Topics, which will make it easier for users to tap into the latest discussions of interest in the app. As you can see in this example, Bluesky’s trending topics will be based on systematic detection of key terms, highlighting the topics that are generating the most mentions at any given time.
Here’s another look at the trending list, and the display when you tap through on a topic (via Radu Oncescu): Bluesky says that this is the first version of its trending topics approach, and that it’ll be iterating based on user feedback.
As per Bluesky:
“You can disable it with the X button or in settings, while your mute words transfer to trending.”
The display is currently available in English language, with Bluesky looking to a wider release in the near future. It’s the latest advance for the Twitter-clone app, bringing it more into line with what Twitter had been. And many users do see Bluesky as a more Twitter-esque alternative than other apps, particularly due to Threads’ restrictions on political content, which has seemingly limited its capacity to highlight the most relevant news trends.
Bluesky is also more friendly to external links, and that’s helped to better align the platform with publishers and journalists, two key creator groups that are actively seeking to post content.
And given that very few people actually post anything to social apps, with most simply reading, this is a key consideration for growth. Which is why Meta was so freaked out about Bluesky’s sudden rise late last year, though that burst in growth has slowed somewhat, based on the latest stats.
According to Bluesky chief Jay Graber, Bluesky now has 25.9 million users. The platform rose from 13 million total users in October, to 20 million by mid-November, so its growth has slowed a little over the past 6 weeks.
But it is still growing, while Graber also notes that: “In the last month and a half, organizations [have reported] a 2-10x increase in the amount of engagement they receive.”
So there may well be opportunity there for brands, but for comparison, 25.9 million users is only 8.63% of Threads’ current active user base. But it could also be worth establishing a Bluesky presence now, just in case it continues to gain more traction, though I’d be hesitant on going “all in” on Bluesky just yet. Maybe, if it reaches 100 million users, it’ll be a more legitimate consideration. Though how it’ll actually get to that level, without funding via ads (which Bluesky is trying to avoid), also remains to be seen. in spanish
Twitter anuncia un nuevo líder para su proyecto de descentralización de redes sociales bluesky
Twitter tiene Anunciado una nueva ventaja para su iniciativa Bluesky centrada en la descentralización, según el CEO de Twitter Jack Dorsey, el proyecto «avanzará mucho más rápido» a partir de ahora.
El nuevo responsable del proyecto será Jay Graber, fundador de la aplicación de planificación de eventos Happening, quien también está muy involucrado en la comunidad de criptomonedas. Graber ya tiene su visión de largo alcance para un ecosistema social descentralizado y ahora tiene como objetivo contratar nuevo personal para el proyecto, con un camino más claro para los esfuerzos.
Pero, ¿qué es exactamente Bluesky, te escucho preguntar?
Interesante pregunta sin una respuesta específica como tal. Al menos no ahora.
Anunciado originalmente en 2019, Twitter describe a Bluesky como un proyecto basado en d. objetivosDesarrollo de un “estándar abierto y descentralizado para redes sociales”. Según el sitio web de Bluesky: «Estamos enfocados en reconstruir la web social conectando silos desconectados y devolviendo a los usuarios el control de la experiencia social. Nuestra misión es desarrollar y promover tecnologías para la conversación pública abierta y descentralizada.»
Claro como el barro, ¿verdad?
La descentralización es un foco central del movimiento de las criptomonedas, que tiene como objetivo fundamental quitarle el poder a los grandes bancos y reguladores estatales y ponerlos de nuevo en manos de la gente, dándole a cada persona la capacidad de administrar la suya propia, en el caso de criptomonedas y transacciones financieras. Desde la perspectiva de las redes sociales, Twitter ve a Bluesky como un medio para distribuir el poder a los usuarios y lejos de los pocos grandes actores tecnológicos, en forma de un mayor control sobre cómo se desarrollan los algoritmos y los sistemas de participación.
Al comienzo del proyecto, Dorsey bosquejó tres puntos focales Para el proyecto: Para facilitar mayores esfuerzos, Abordar el abuso y la información engañosa Para que los usuarios y la comunidad en general tengan más control sobre los algoritmos de la plataforma.
Mejorar la salud de la conversación dando a las personas más influencia sobre las reglas de la plataforma. Aún no está claro cómo exactamente se lograrán estos esfuerzos, pero la idea es que al usar los mismos principios que Bitcoin y otros proyectos de criptomonedas, las plataformas sociales podrían construirse sobre la base de la opinión de la comunidad, y cada individuo podrá acceder al Proceso más amplio.
Como puede ver, si realmente no sabe qué es Bluesky, no está solo, ya que nadie sabe realmente qué será exactamente del proyecto. Pero Twitter confía en que Graber es la guía adecuada, con una visión clara que se alinea con estos objetivos.
Esto podría tener un gran impacto en el desarrollo futuro de las plataformas sociales, o podría no ir a ninguna parte, ya que los detalles pueden ser demasiado complejos y descentralizados para funcionar de manera coherente. Pero Twitter está invirtiendo en el proyecto para averiguarlo, y es una idea interesante que vale la pena explorar. La preocupación es que con el tiempo nos hemos vuelto demasiado dependientes de muy pocos que determinan el destino del mundo a través de reuniones de directorio, muy alejados de la experiencia vivida por las personas. Quizás iniciativas como estas puedan restablecer el equilibrio de poder, dando a las personas más oportunidades para ser más influyentes en las cosas que afectan sus vidas. Quizás. Las estructuras de poder inherentes siempre han existido, o se formaron sobre la base del comportamiento aprendido. Pero tal vez haya una manera de cambiar esa forma de pensar y reestructurar esos elementos.
Tendremos que esperar y ver qué desarrolla el equipo de Bluesky.