Bluesky Reaches 44 Million Users, COO Says Many Joined After 2024 Election

Rose Wang, chief operating officer of Bluesky, spoke at a fireside chat during SXSW London on Monday afternoon about the platform reaching over 44 million users in two years. Many of those users joined from X after the 2024 election, Wang said, citing dissatisfaction with centralized control of content.

Wang said the platform's growth came after users observed what happens when one person controls an entire platform.

She added that a new owner can change the culture and rules of a platform overnight and make it inhospitable to many people, referring to X by its former name, Twitter, without naming Elon Musk. Wang stated that large platforms like Facebook and Twitter have difficulty shifting direction because of their size.

She said Bluesky, as a newer platform, can adapt more quickly to user needs and rebuild relationships between content creators and communities.

Wang also discussed Bluesky's newly launched AI tool, Attie, which helps users curate personalized feeds based on their own interests. She described AI as comparable to electricity in its ability to power other functions and said it should be discussed in more nuanced terms than a general category of artificial intelligence.

On content moderation, Wang compared current systems to a single court with one set of rules for a global audience and thousands of clerks making decisions.

She said this model is broken and that Bluesky seeks a different approach. SXSW London is taking place across Shoreditch from June 1-6 and runs through Saturday.