Bluesky officially opens to everyone, no invite code needed

Still searching for a platform to share short text-based social media posts now that Elon Musk has reshaped what was formerly Twitter in his own vision?

If the only barrier preventing you from joining Bluesky was the absence of an invite code, your time has come. On Tuesday, Bluesky removed the invite-only requirement and opened registration to all users.

Now, anyone interested in creating a Bluesky account can do so.

Can an open Bluesky compete with Twitter?

Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now X, many users of the platform shifted to various alternative social media platforms. Among these alternatives, two stood out: Meta-supported Threads and a new player known as Bluesky.

Bluesky initially seemed like an unlikely competitor. It was up against two well-established industry giants. Bluesky was a new entrant, officially launched as a basic social media service shortly after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October 2022. The iOS version of Bluesky was only released in February of the following year.

Despite its initial challenges, Bluesky had unique selling points: it was centered around decentralization and, notably, had a connection to the earlier days of Twitter. Jack Dorsey, the founder and former CEO of Twitter, supported Bluesky. In fact, one of Twitter’s final acts before Musk’s takeover was allocating $13 million in funding to Bluesky. Unlike other social media platforms, Bluesky is structured as a public benefit corporation for the broader public.

What was happening during Bluesky’s invite-only phase?

During times of disruption on X caused by Musk, users would actively look for Bluesky invite codes as a potential alternative social media platform. Bluesky managed to attract over 3 million users under the invite-only system.

Interest in Bluesky fluctuated over the past year, influenced by events on X. Bluesky also encountered challenges in handling content moderation as it grew.

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber explained to The Verge that the delay in Bluesky opening to the public was due to finalizing moderation features and ensuring a stable infrastructure.

Is it too late for Bluesky to make an impact?

However, some may view Bluesky’s delay in transitioning to an open system as a missed opportunity. There was a period where Bluesky could have emerged as a significant competitor to X, before Meta launched Threads in July. Nevertheless, Threads has gained traction as a strong contender in the category, recently boasting around 100 million monthly active users.

Despite this, Bluesky has a dedicated user base, steadily gaining popularity within specific niche communities. With its doors now open to the public, Bluesky’s performance in competing with two social media giants will be closely watched.