If you have been on X during the past few weeks, you will have noticed the same phrase keeps appearing - ‘Bluesky’.
And it has not been a plea for better weather.
Bluesky is an emerging alternative to Elon Musk’s X, and it seems many organisations and individuals are flocking over there.
User numbers are multiplying. At the end of October, the social media channel had 13 million users. That figure now stands at 19 million.
bluesky's user count grew by another million today
— bluesky (@bluesky) November 18, 2024
welcome to all 19M of you 🥳https://t.co/x6v5YW0WFT pic.twitter.com/FtCvcyyr20
And X has been hit by a rising number of account deactivations during the same time.
So, is it time to rethink your social media strategy and join the Xodus?
It is a question asked during our social media training courses and by members of the Media Team Academy – our learning and development programme for comms and media professionals.
And the answer is that many organisations already are.
The Guardian is the most high-profile organisation to quit the platform previously known as Twitter.
The brand, which has more than 80 X accounts and 27 million followers, announced last week that it will no longer post on the platform. It said: “We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.”
It added: “This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.
Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X https://t.co/j4fRgzSYde
— The Guardian (@guardian) November 13, 2024
German football clubs Werder Bremen and St Pauli have followed suit. Werder Bremen posted a statement which spoke of "the radicalisation of the platform" while St Pauli accused Musk of converting X “into a hate machine”.
Additionally, fashion brand Balenciaga quit X a while ago, Devon County Council has not been active on the channel since January, and North Wales Police left in October, saying the platform was “no longer consistent” with its values.
Among celebrity users, author Stephen King recently quit, calling the platform “too toxic”. CNN anchor Don Lemmon left, saying the platform no longer serves the “purpose” of free speech. Singer Lizzo is now directing people to her Bluesky account.
And, of course, there is the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Museum. It announced, in a trending post, that it would no longer post on its X account because of “the rise of inappropriate content and decrease in meaningful engagement with our followers”.
— Clifton Suspension Bridge (@brunelsbridge) November 11, 2024
A bridge too far?
Not according to Jonathan Pollinger, one of our brilliant social media training course tutors.
He thinks more organisations will quit the platform that was once viewed as a crucial communications channel.
He said: “Elon Musk's active support for Donald Trump and his involvement in the US election has led to concerns about the platform's direction, with the algorithm favouring right-wing content, and its operation of content moderation policies.
“Increased misinformation and toxic content have driven organisations like The Guardian to leave, and I can see others following.
“It's a big reputational risk to have your posts or adverts seen alongside the toxic content on X, which is prevalent.
“I can't see any change in Musk's operation of X that will encourage users to stay. It's important for brands to live up to their values and mission, and it's unlikely that X's environment is conducive to this.
“And, as well as these major issues, it's quite tedious to use these days, with loads of spam and adverts in comments making it hard to follow any conversation.”
So, is the grass greener where the sky is bluer? And is it a viable alternative?
Bluesky, set up in 2019 by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, feels like it has momentum.
And it looks a bit like how Twitter once looked.
But Jonathan is not convinced.
“Bluesky has benefitted from a lot of media coverage since the US election, with reports of huge interest and new signups.
“But the stats show that Bluesky has 19 million users. Threads has increased its total by the same amount to 290 million in November alone.
“I think the medium to long-term future of Bluesky isn't promising.
“While attractive to geeky types, it currently doesn't provide enough stability for larger brands.
And with so many networks to choose from and users having their networks elsewhere, it's unlikely to appeal to the general public either.”
Jonathan thinks Threads presents a better option.
“It depends on where your audience is and your objectives,” he said.
“But in general terms, I'd suggest Threads is the best alternative.
“It's great for visual content, it has strong ties with Instagram, which is good for those already on there, and it has the backing of Meta.
“For Instagram users with a network there, adding Threads into the mix is less of a big deal than it is to jump to something completely new like Bluesky or Mastodon.”
Threads is now just over a year old. When it launched, it reached 100m users in five days.
But active user levels plateaued, and there is sometimes a narrative that it has failed.
“I disagree with that argument,” Jonathan said.
“It's not much more than a year since launch, and it will shortly overtake the number of X users, which has been around as Twitter and X since 2006.
“Those on the platform have positive feedback about their experience.
“What's missing - to make it more of a success - is more awareness among the general public. I think they need a 'moment' like the Arab Spring and Twitter.
“On that subject, its real-time nature needs a lot of improvement too.”
With that in mind, should brands that decide they have enough of X keep their account open to use for crisis communication?
“It could be beneficial in the event of a crisis for communication,” Jonathan said.
“Retaining an account also prevents account impersonation.”
So, what else should you and your brand consider before breaking up with your X?
“It's worth assessing the impact, including establishing how much engagement and reach there is and how many 'click-throughs' to the organisation's website there are,” Jonathan said.
“Are people regularly mentioning the brand and asking questions?
“After this assessment, it's worth putting together a transition plan, which would include issuing a statement on the departure, updating the bio, posting a tweet and perhaps mentioning it on other social media.
“As with all social networks, the new one would need a content and engagement plan and adequate resource to update.”
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