One of the new ‘improvements’ coming to social media is BlueSky direct messages, something many have, unfortunately, asked for!
The platform that seems to most look and behave like the Twitter we remember is making changes. One of the biggest new features coming to social media will be BlueSky direct messages. In the service’s recent announcement about coming updates, it listed the new direct message option at the top of the list.
It’s a feature, the service claims, that many of its users requested over time.
Honestly, I don’t doubt that users would like a way to send a message to a fellow user. I can think of plenty of times it might be nice to do so.
“Historically, all bluesky posts have been public. But there’s a world of interactions that are opened up when users can directly message each other,” BlueSky writes in its update page. “Making personal connections, finding job opportunities, organizing events, workshopping posts – there’s a lot of reasons to slide into the DMs.”
Unfortunately, direct messages can easily be abused
Instagram does offer an instant messaging option. I’ve had to clamp down on settings to block most people from being able to send me one. Most of the ones I received before the change of settings were spam.
It’s not the kind of spam that involves cryptocurrency, pyramid schemes or get-rich-quick promises.
Sometimes, it’s random people who you’ve never seen before. They start with a simple, “Hi” and quickly try to turn the conversation personal or try to get you to switch to different platforms. Eventually, I have no doubt, they try to get you to a porn site, a send-them-money page, or malware.
Threads recently announced it was adding its own direct messaging option. But it appears its messaging will go through Instagram’s messaging system. So I have my fingers crossed that the rollout on that platform will be fairly painless since I already have settings in place.
For BlueSky, I’m going to have to set those options all over again. The good news about the BlueSky announcement is that it looks like they’re giving us that option:
The v1 of DMs will be one-to-one. You’ll be able to restrict who can DM you (open, followed users only, and disabled). If you’ve used DMs on other social networks, it should feel familiar.
BlueSky
Well, if I have that kind of control, I suppose it’ll be ok.
I just wish these social platforms would find a way to get rid of all of the bots who use direct messaging for only the wrong reasons.
Do you ever use direct messages on social media apps?
