Bluesky, the open and decentralized social network initiative spearheaded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has opened up its waitlist signups to the public. Previously, joining the waitlist required an invite from someone already on it.
Bluesky aims to provide an alternative to traditional social media platforms like Twitter by creating an open protocol that can support a variety of social networks and clients. This contrasts the walled-garden proprietary approaches of platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
The goal is to give social media users more control over algorithms, transparency into how content reaches them, greater data portability between services, and interoperability between different networks.
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Dorsey Founded Bluesky to Counter Platform Control of Experience and Data
Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter CEO in November 2021, founded Bluesky in 2019 as an independent company aiming to develop an open social media standard. Dorsey has repeatedly expressed concerns over the control that centralized platforms have over user experiences and data.
In founding Bluesky, Dorsey hoped to provide an alternative model where protocols, not corporations, shape social media. He has put in around $10 million to fund Bluesky’s early development.
“Twitter is funding a small independent team of up to five open-source architects, engineers, and designers to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media. The goal is for Twitter to ultimately be a client of this standard,” Dorsey announced when unveiling Bluesky in 2019.
Open to All After the Initial Testing Phase with Invites
Up until now, joining the Bluesky waitlist required an invite from an existing member. This limited signups as the platform went through initial testing phases.
On February 1st, Bluesky opened up its waitlist signups to everyone interested in joining its mission. The change means that anyone can now sign up on the Bluesky website with just an email to get early access to the platform as it develops.
“We are opening the waitlist sign-up to everyone! We believe that we have eliminated enough technical hurdles to open registration more widely,” the platform announced.
Over 30k Waitlist Signups Since 2019 Launch
According to Bluesky, over 30,000 people have joined its waitlist already since the project kicked off in 2019. The team highlighted that signups accelerated as more people learned about the initiative through recent media coverage.
Opening up waitlist access marks the next phase as Bluesky works towards launching its technical infrastructure for an open social network protocol.
Focused on Developing AT Protocol for Decentralized Social Media
Bluesky’s goal is not to build a proprietary social media platform to compete with the likes of Twitter or Facebook. Rather, it aims to develop an open Authenticated Transfer (AT) Protocol that can power decentralized social network applications.
The AT Protocol specification outlines a technology standard for transferring social media posts and data between servers while retaining control with users. This could enable the portability of content across platforms and give users more visibility into how algorithms surface content.
Multiple different social networks and clients could build on top of this common protocol, similar to how email providers all use the same underlying mail transfer protocols.
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Timeline Uncertain But Signups Show Interest in Open Alternative
It remains unclear when Bluesky may have its AT Protocol ready for release and at what stage a functioning decentralized social network may emerge.
Nonetheless, the surge in waitlist signups as it opens up shows significant public interest in its mission to create a Twitter alternative that gives users more agency over their social media experience.
Many Weary of Platform Control See Promise in Open Protocols
For many, frustrations over major platforms unilaterally controlling policies, algorithms, advertising, and data portability have fueled interest in the concept of open protocols backed by Bluesky and others.
Entrepreneur Anil Dash, who joined Bluesky’s board in 2021, commented on the public disillusionment driving open social media momentum.
“I think we underestimated how much people want alternatives to the most dominant social media companies today,” Dash told TIME. “They may not want to leave, but they want there to be options.”
If Bluesky can deliver on its technical vision for empowering both users and developers through an open social standard, it may provide exactly the kind of alternative many are hoping for.
