While other social networks are born, others are beginning to die. While that happens, others continue to “rule” the world.
A few days ago, I read on this same portal the news that the ex-CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, founded a new social network called “BlueSky”, which is basically another alternative in the world of microblogging. The news began to circulate about the beta phase of the new network, with some changes compared to TW, such as more audiovisual content. At least for the moment, it is not available to everyone and can only be accessed by invitation, following the strategy that worked for ClubHouse during 2021.
So far the news, there is actually nothing relevant in it. I frankly doubt that “BlueSky” will make a revolution or that the “few” users who currently use Twitter will move there. We have already seen some networks or apps that become fashionable for a while just to go against the “establishment”, but the complete exodus is never fully carried out. Case study was Mastodon, another alternative to Twitter, when it was rumored that it was going to close forever, which grew more than 6,000% in downloads in just 2 weeks. This represents going from 15,000 downloads to 970,000 in the blink of an eye. Even so, that growth was circumstantial: a lot of noise but few nuts. In the end, it was announced that TW would not disappear, and users returned to the social network, as if nothing had happened.
A similar phenomenon happens with Telegram: although many opened their account motivated by a policy change in WhatsApp, it is not used as a conventional means of communication, but as a “backup” for when WA falls. It’s just there, we know it’s there, but it’s not really used.
Returning to the theme of BlueSky, it is interesting to see how founding a social network is just as easy to start with an idea under your arm. The really difficult thing is for your idea to go viral and infect millions of users around the world. And even then, maintaining constant use is even more complex. For example, the novelty of ClubHouse, the first audio-chat social network in the world, was very high. It generated a great expectation. It was a novel idea. It was very viral: in less than 8 months it grew to almost 10 million users on iOS… and even so, nowadays, no one uses ClubHouse anymore (I opened the app just to see how neglected the rooms are and well yes… almost not there are users). Everything is desolate over there.
Another very similar case is BeReal, the most hot At the time, the one that was going to dethrone Instagram, the new digital panacea, the new flag of generation Z and all that was said about this network was that it could dethrone IG. And it looks like the numbers, downloads, and popularity were on track to do so, but it was only announced last month that suddenly interest, unique users, and downloads started to drop. In other words: BeReal, the one that was predicted as the new giant of the networks, has begun its decline before going up to the Olympus of the networks.
What I want to say with all this, back on the subject of BlueSky, is that I don’t see where it can compete with Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and let alone TikTok. I don’t see anything really new in him, it seems that Jack Dorsey simply gave the improved version of him – without Elon Musk – from Twitter. The most iconic social networks in general champion movements, generations, moments of change. And above all, they are maintained. As I always say: Facebook became the guy goodwavecool it aged well. Or that it has aged well, because it is still valid: it is still in the TOP of the most downloaded networks in the world and it is hard to see when it might disappear. And surely he will continue to dominate the world with his contributions. In that sense, for example, I don’t know how long TikTok can stay in force: if just a few years or more than 15 years, as in the case of FB. I promise to write about it when the time comes.
Returning to the topic of BlueSky, I think the new social network of the ex-CEO of Twitter will serve only to have some headlines: some notes will be written, other columns, it will be discussed on news portals, some TikToks that will tell the story and we will pass long on it and it will reach the graveyard of social networks such as Myspace, Mastodon ClubHouse, Vine or Snapchat.
It will only be an anecdote that is news because it is about a CEO of a social network that one day was dilemma and important in the world… and nothing more.