The ‘X Exodus’ that began after the presidential election isn’t the first time users threatened to leave the platform. Is this one different?
The social media platform Bluesky, symbolized by a butterfly, had a good month. Its user count jumped to 18 million since the election. In October, it boasted 13 million users. You can blame a so-called X exodus for that. To hear users who are abandoning X, the former Twitter, talk, you can place a good bit of blame for their departure on the platform’s owner, Elon Musk.
Granted, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to X, which claims to have about 600 million active monthly users worldwide and around 100 million in the U.S. alone.
Musk has made plenty of controversial decisions since he purchased the platform. I would point to the foolishness over the little blue verification checkmarks toward the top of the list. I see lots of claims of censorship on the platform now, mostly from people who seem to be on the liberal side of the spectrum. If that’s true, I don’t know that it could come as a surprise. After all, it seems like Musk, who just won a “consultant” role in the Trump Administration looks to be following the president-elect like a little puppy dog.
The mood of the platform isn’t great, but it hasn’t been great for quite a while. Users on many social platforms act as if they received no home training these days. But I have noticed a particular level of hostility on X. Perhaps some of that is the sense of empowerment MAGA members feel after Trump’s victory.
Bluesky benefits again
In any case, it’s the third major boost this year for Bluesky. The first came early in the year when Bluesky finally ditched its awful invitation-only process. Receiving the invites took forever; I only got my Bluesky account when a colleague sent me one of his invite codes. It was a month or more after I was already in that the company sent me the invite code it promised when I requested one!
The second surge came in August when Brazil banned X. Brazilians apparently really wanted to be able to go social and since Bluesky looks a lot like X, it was a natural choice. The user base grew by nearly 3 million in that country alone that month. The temporary ban was credited to Musk’s clash with a Brazilian Supreme Court justice.
I like Bluesky just fine. It certainly seems familiar…and there’s a reason for that: Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey created it. In fact, Dorsey developed it parallel with Twitter. So of all of the new platforms out there, it seems to be the easiest to adjust to only because it’s practically identical to what Twitter used to be.
There seems to be less negativity there than on X. But of course, that’s surely a temporary situation. Social media brings out trolls no matter how “nice” a platform feels. Sooner or later, those trolls will make their presence known in a big way there just like everywhere else. The only difference will be whether moderation tools can get rid of them.
Threads is another nice alternative, but with a difference
Threads also has an overall nicer feel to it. The Meta-owned platform is sort of a cross between what Twitter used to be and what Instagram still is. Unlike Instagram, you don’t have to post an image every time you have something to say. But somehow the layout seems to make it easier to pass by non-image posts.
But The New York Times points out one other difference that could be sending people toward Bluesky:
Threads, an app similar to X that Meta introduced last year, relies mostly on an opaque algorithmic curation that reduces politics from people’s feeds. That has caused some people to head to other networks, including Bluesky, to discuss hot-button social issues.
Of the newer batch of social media platforms, I still think I like Threads the best. But even there I’ve seen some occasional bursts of trollism going on. Fortunately, blocking is easy there, too.
Call me crazy, but I guess I’ve reached an age where I’m just not willing to put up with someone else’s dreck.
Some of us can’t leave X…no matter how appealing it might seem
A part of my job involves managing social media. (A part of my blogging life involves social media as well, of course.) So no matter how much love or hate I feel for X, leaving it wouldn’t be a practical option for me. I’m stuck there whether I like it or not.
Some users face another kind of complication: social media management platforms. SMM platforms allow you to schedule, view and interact with users across multiple platforms in one single place. But some SMM tools have you sign up through one social media account or another. That account serves as your “primary” point of contact.
The SMM tool I’m using more than any other at the moment is Fedica, thanks to an outrageous price hike from my previous preferred platform, Buffer. But you join Fedica — even for a free account — through your Twitter handle. If you leave Twitter, you lose access to Fedica.
Until SMM tools are able to be “ambidextrous” when it comes to which platforms you’re required to be on, users may well find themselves in a similar boat.
There’s no one alternative to X for those who leave
Notables like Stephen King have announced they’re leaving the the platform in recent days. (I’m reminded of the popular saying, “This is isn’t an airport. You don’t need to announce your departure.”)
If you’re looking for the closest thing to X, you probably want Bluesky. (You can follow me here.)
If you’re looking for a place to post without as much politics, Threads might be worth a look. (You can follow me here.)
If you’re like me, you’re on both of them. (And, for good or bad, still on X as well.)
