Bluesky, a struggling social media startup touted as a Twitter killer, reports a surge in UK signups
Nickie Louise
Posted On August 13, 2024
Bluesky, the struggling social media app hailed as a “Twitter killer,” said it has seen a notable rise in signups across the UK following Elon Musk’s recent controversial comments regarding the riots in the country.
The platform reported a 60% increase in activity from UK-based accounts, with several Members of Parliament also joining the app, Reuters reported, citing an email from the startup.
Musk’s actions have sparked criticism, particularly for inflaming tensions during a period of far-right rioting in Britain. These riots were fueled by misinformation about the tragic murder of three girls in northern England last month.
The Tesla CEO shared misleading content with his extensive follower base, including a post predicting an “inevitable” civil war in Britain. This prompted responses from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and led to renewed calls for stricter online content regulations.
“For 5 out of the last 7 days, the UK led in Bluesky signups globally,” said Bluesky, a social media platform co-founded by Twitter Jack Dorsey.
Bluesky is one of several apps aiming to fill the gap left by Twitter after Elon Musk took over the platform in late 2022.
As of July, Bluesky’s monthly active users numbered around 688,568, a small fraction compared to X’s 76.9 million, based on data from Similarweb, a digital market intelligence firm.
Bluesky was founded in 2019 as an internal project under Jack Dorsey. The platform focuses on developing a decentralized social network protocol. However, Dorsey stepped down from Bluesky’s board in May amid ongoing controversies at Block. Shortly after his resignation, Dorsey publicly backed Elon Musk’s X, referring to it as “freedom technology.”
Dorsey’s departure from Bluesky, a startup he championed post-Twitter sale, was confirmed with a simple “No” in response to a question about his continued involvement with the board.
Bluesky now finds itself in a crowded microblogging space, competing with other platforms like Mastodon and the soon-to-be-launched Threads. With the market becoming increasingly saturated, Bluesky faces the challenge of carving out its unique position and attracting users in this competitive landscape.
