What Bluesky Tells Us About the Future of Social Media

Bluesky, a new Twitter alternative, is built on a decentralized vision that its backers say would give users control over moderation and algorithms, but the article argues that for now the platform remains largely theoretical. Bluesky runs on one central server, with no immediate timeline for switching to its federated AT Protocol model, and its "What's Hot" feed is curated from simple popularity rather than user-built algorithms. The author says the early community has been shaped by harassment fights, a viral "hellthread" of nudes and a heavy white, liberal tilt, and argues that its main appeal so far is that it is not owned by Elon Musk.