Getting Started with Bluesky — An Alternative to X (Twitter)

Bluesky is one of the largest social networks that grew out of the dissatisfaction many people felt with X (formerly Twitter) over the past few years. It looks and feels similar to classic Twitter — short text posts, replies, reposts, likes — but it's built on a different kind of technology (the AT Protocol) that is decentralized, meaning no single company owns the entire network.

What that actually means for you as a user is simple: you get a chronological timeline with no ads by default, you choose which "feeds" (custom timelines built by users) to follow, and the company running the main Bluesky app can't arbitrarily hide things from you because another client app could always show them. You can follow anyone on Bluesky and they can follow you back, just like on Twitter.

Signing up takes about two minutes. You pick a handle (username) that ends in .bsky.social by default, fill in a profile picture and bio, and you're ready to post. The hard part for most people is finding accounts worth following in a brand-new network. Bluesky solved this well with "Starter Packs" — curated lists of people to follow around topics like science, news, gardening, birding, or local communities. Following one Starter Pack instantly gives you a full feed.

Custom feeds are Bluesky's secret weapon. Instead of one algorithm controlling what you see, anyone can build a feed — "Only Cat Photos," "Science News," "Posts from people who follow me back" — and you subscribe to whichever ones you like. The main Following feed stays strictly chronological and ad-free.