Bluesky continues to add more Twitter-like functionality, as it works to build itself into a viable alternative to the app now known as X, and amid the rising challenge of Meta’s Threads.
Which is going to be a tough ask for the fledgling app, but functionally, Bluesky does offer a comparative offering. It just doesn’t have the same level of usage and engagement. At least not yet.
Bluesky’s latest updates relate to its notification settings, and how you can manage and personalize your experience.
The first new element is customizable activity notifications, so that you can choose which accounts you get notifications from.
As you can see in this image, you can now select the bell icon to ensure you’re notified whenever an account posts an update. Just like on X.
You can also now choose who you get notifications about (everyone, people you follow, or no one), while you can also now get notified about re-posts of your re-posts, likes of your re-posts and activity from other profiles.
The updates will give you more ways to manage your Bluesky experience, and ensure you’re across all of the updates that are relevant to you. Which is mostly just bringing the app into line with X, as noted, and it remains to be seen whether Bluesky will be able to add any significantly differentiating elements to make it a truly valuable and viable Twitter alternative.
Because the key selling point for Bluesky, in decentralization, giving users more control, over their experience, isn’t really hitting the mark with most users.
Of course, people are always complaining about how “the algorithm” is dictating their experience, and how they want more control over what they see in each app. But in reality, they really don’t, because all of that extra control takes more time, more manual effort, and more work to set up and maintain.
And in an age where we’re increasingly becoming reliant on algorithms learning our preferences, and showing us what we’ll like, without us even having to like anything, or follow anyone, that additional management runs counter to what the next generation of users is accustomed to.
People like the idea of privacy, the concept of control, they like that these things make them feel like they have the power to manage their experience. But in reality, convenience will always win out.
That’s why Mastodon has failed to catch on, because you have to manually select servers and systems, while Threads has thrived because all you need to do is tap a link from IG to create an account. That’s why nobody updated their Facebook settings even after Facebook was found to be onselling their data many years back.
Conceptually, people love the idea of decentralized social, but in reality, they like convenience. That, and going wherever the crowd is gathering, and Bluesky, at least right now, isn’t it.
