From X to Bluesky: the sky is blue
The talk of last week among UK PR and comms people has been about the mass exodus from X (Twitter) to Bluesky. Never one to be left behind, I joined them.
Despite a recent growth spurt of a million new users daily, Bluesky at 24 million users is much smaller than X’s 586 million. However, Bluesky app usage in the UK has increased by 352% (and 519% in the USA).
In deciding whether to move, two important considerations come into play.
Firstly, as an organisation or individual, do you want to use a platform, X, that promotes misinformation and hate and whose owner clearly dislikes the UK?
Secondly, where are your audiences (and those who inform or influence you) now hanging out on social? Politicians, government (including local authorities), and many journalists are still on X. It does look like many UK journalists are considering the move to Bluesky, according to PRMoment.
Dan Slee recently surveyed those who ran public and charity sector organisational X accounts. In the public sector, a quarter have left X, and a quarter are staying, with half evaluating their position. Over 60% were evaluating their position in the charity sector, with only 11% staying.
Last Monday, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations announced that it would cease active posting on X, citing growing concerns over declining engagement, platform governance and the proliferation of misinformation. The CIPR said it would strengthen its LinkedIn and Instagram presence and launched a Bluesky channel. I only read praise for the CIPR decision on LinkedIn.
This is a rare movement in PR/comms.
So, you may be wondering how to start with Bluesky after signing up. Some things will feel familiar to X/Twitter users, such as the short-form character limit (300 on Bluesky) and pithy posts.
Other things are different. For example, starter packs! These curated collections of users allow you to follow multiple accounts based on specific interests or themes quickly.
Feeds are user-generated timelines that aggregate posts based on specific criteria, such as topics. They provide a way to organise the content you see in your timeline without relying on the platform’s algorithm.
Lists are curated feeds on topics and are not about following other people. Oh, did I mention that there are no adverts on Bluesky?
I joined the starter packs ‘Advisory Club’ (David Gallagher's brilliant comms group) and ‘Crisis Comms’ and Stuart Bruce’s lists ‘public relations and communications’ and ‘UK journalists’. I’m probably missing some great starter packs and lists, so feel free to send them to me.
A recent letter in the Guardian after the recent cold spell made me laugh: “I was surprised to see that the Met Office had issued a cold weather warning on X. Of all organisations, surely our iconic weather forecaster should be leading the transfer to Bluesky," quipped Stephen Chicken of Swinton, Scottish Borders.
Alan Anstead is a PR and communications specialist. You can find Alan on Bluesky.