117
submitted 9 months ago by dez@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.ml

Graber is "optimistic about human potential, even though I'm realistic about human nature." When Bluesky launched last year, it filled a gap that was desperately needed by people who were looking for alternatives to X, as it seemed like the ship formerly known as Twitter was possibly sinking. (Against all odds, it hasn't yet.)

Bluesky wasn't as confusing as Mastodon and wasn't owned by Meta like Threads. Bluesky looks and feels much like Old Twitter.

There was only one snag: It was available as a beta launch, only with an invite code, which was initially so hard to obtain that even Joe Biden couldn't get one. Starting Tuesday, Bluesky is finally out of "beta" and will be open to anyone — no codes needed.

Like Mastodon and Threads, Bluesky is an experiment in a new, "decentralized" way of running a social app, where users can create their own communities and moderation rules. (Bluesky also has its own moderation team.)

Jack Dorsey was involved in creating Bluesky while he was still at Twitter and now sits on its board. It's organized as a public benefit corporation.

Ultimately, it may not be a winner-takes-all competition between these X alternatives; the new approach to social may be to exist happily in smaller pockets without needing massive scale to survive. (Although Meta certainly would love to win the battle with Threads.)

More here - https://www.businessinsider.nl/bluesky-is-finally-open-to-everyone-but-will-anyone-come-we-ask-its-ceo/

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] xor@infosec.pub 32 points 9 months ago

Dorsey doesn't own bluesky, it's a public interest company and it runs on the AT protocol, which is defederated and open source... like lemmy or mastodon

[-] KLISHDFSDF@lemmy.ml 11 points 9 months ago

Jack doesn't own bluesky but he is on the board [0] and even working for a public benefit company, is supposed to [1]:

... operate the business with the same authority and behavior as in a traditional corporation

It does go on to state they're required to consider the impact of their decisions not only for shareholders but also employees, customers, community, etc, but there's no mechanism that forces them to do "the right thing". A public benefit company is basically a way to protect decisions made if they were to not align with the concept of "shareholder primacy" [2]. On the other hand, if Bluesky had registered as a certified B Corp [3], that would have more weight to it as they not only have to state their intentions but also provide evidence.

In regards to being federated - are they actually federating with anyone yet? Genuine question, I haven't kept up.

In regards to being open source, it's a good start, but like the Chromium project, the company's needs will drive it forward and the interest of the company will come first, good or bad.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluesky_(social_network)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefit_corporation

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder_primacy

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_Corporation_(certification)

this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2024
117 points (84.2% liked)

Technology

35003 readers
205 users here now

This is the official technology community of Lemmy.ml for all news related to creation and use of technology, and to facilitate civil, meaningful discussion around it.


Ask in DM before posting product reviews or ads. All such posts otherwise are subject to removal.


Rules:

1: All Lemmy rules apply

2: Do not post low effort posts

3: NEVER post naziped*gore stuff

4: Always post article URLs or their archived version URLs as sources, NOT screenshots. Help the blind users.

5: personal rants of Big Tech CEOs like Elon Musk are unwelcome (does not include posts about their companies affecting wide range of people)

6: no advertisement posts unless verified as legitimate and non-exploitative/non-consumerist

7: crypto related posts, unless essential, are disallowed

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS