Bluesky Previews Creator Compensation as New Account Registrations Skyrocket Following Elon Musk's Twitter Demolition
Bluesky Previews Creator Compensation as New Account Registrations Skyrocket Following Elon Musk's Twitter Demolition
Bluesky, a swiftly expanding social media platform, declared on Thursday that they've secured a $15 million Series A round of financing, as per their website post. The announcement hints at future developments, such as potential subscriptions, payments, and additional features.
The investment round was spearheaded by Blockchain Capital, according to Bluesky's announcement on Thursday, with contributions from Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, SevenX, and Amir Shevat of Darkmode. However, Bluesky underlined that they weren't embracing crypto and had no plans to incorporate tokens or NFTs on the platform.
Bluesky frequently witnesses a spike in new registrants following any mishap on Elon Musk's Twitter (now known as X). In the past month alone, Bluesky has added three million users, increasing from 10 million users to 13 million. This growth can be largely attributed to Musk's legal issues in Brazil and the upcoming removal of the blocking function on X.
What can we expect post this investment? Bluesky recently launched features like direct messages and video, bringing it closer to what X already offers. However, more advanced concepts are on the horizon, including subscription-based features such as enhanced video uploads and personalized profile customizations.
But Rose Wang, Bluesky's COO, assured that these paid features won't offer any sort of boost within Bluesky, as is the case with X and its $8-per-month blue checkmark.
"Bluesky is run by a 20-person core team, moderators, and support agents. Our primary expenses are team and infrastructure. Subscription revenue aids in app improvement, fostering developer growth, and time for exploring non-advertising-based business models," Wang wrote on Thursday.
Bluesky is also considering the implementation of a payment system, which would enable creators to receive remuneration. Though specifics regarding this were scarce, Musk has been hinting at adding an in-app payment system to X since his acquisition in late 2022, though he hasn't delivered on this promise yet.
The prospect of creator payments garnered mixed responses on Bluesky. Some users expressed concerns about the potential negative consequences of such incentives.
"If anything ruins Bluesky, it'll be the need to make money," said Kyle Orland, senior gaming editor at Ars Technica.
The surge of Bluesky as an autonomous social media platform has been a welcomed shift for many who spent years posting on sites like Twitter. And not just due to Musk transforming the site into a digital geriatric home. Within the online subculture of a certain age, reminiscences of social media platforms like MySpace and Friendster are prevalent, with Twitter and Facebook believed to meet a similar end. Yet, this isn't the case.
Rather, the past two decades have seen a significant level of consolidation (Facebook's acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014) alongside identical services from the same Big Tech monopolies (Facebook, now Meta, introduced Threads in 2023). Paul Frazee, a member of Bluesky, is familiar with the old cycle and understands that the social media platform won't endure forever. That's why Frazee has emphasized that the company designed the service with portability in mind.
In response to a suggestion from a user, who urged creators to direct their audience towards their own websites or newsletters to prevent losing their audience when Bluesky eventually declines, Frazee stated, "Just FYI the Bluesky team agrees. Hopefully, not in 5 years (I'd prefer at least 10 good years) but we're all aware of the cycle. The company is eventually our competitor. That's why we did this entire thing—so other apps could replace us if/when it happens."
Frazee linked to an explanation thread about how the platform allows every user to function as a personal website.
Whether Bluesky can sustain its impressive growth remains uncertain. But progressing from 1 million users in September 2023 to over 13 million users today shows that social media users are at least exploring fresh options beyond the Big Tech monopoly.
"With each passing month, the need for an open social network becomes more apparent," Bluesky stated in their announcement on Thursday. "We're thrilled about where we're going—we're not just building another social app, but an entire network that offers users autonomy and choice. Thank you for joining us."
With the newly secured funding, Bluesky is set to introduce more advanced tech features in the future, such as enhanced subscription-based options and personalized profile customizations. The future of Bluesky also includes the potential implementation of a payment system, allowing creators to receive remuneration.