Bluesky Rolls Out Group Chats in Strategic Shift Towards Communities
Bluesky has launched a new group chat feature, allowing up to 50 participants to interact privately. This addition marks a strategic shift for the platform, which is increasingly focusing on smaller, controlled communities to compete with larger rivals like X. While X recently shut down its communities feature due to spam, Bluesky hopes to attract users who want more control and independence from Big Tech. Although media sharing is not yet supported due to moderation requirements, the update also includes personalized QR codes for easier profile sharing.
On Thursday, the social media platform Bluesky launched support for group chats, marking a significant shift in its strategy. The company is now focusing on community features to make the app more competitive with its larger rival, X. While Elon Musk’s platform recently doubled down on messaging by releasing a standalone XChat app, Bluesky is finally offering a way for users to interact privately.
The new feature was included in the latest app update. Currently, group chats are limited to 50 participants, which is significantly smaller than the 1,000 members allowed on X. However, Bluesky has indicated that this limit might be increased eventually. Chat creators can manage their groups flexibly and decide who is permitted to participate. Invite links can be generated and shared across the internet, including as embedded cards in Bluesky posts.
This strategic shift arrives as Bluesky’s overall growth has slowed. The network currently reaches around 44.8 million registered users, whereas X boasts 600 million monthly active users. If Bluesky were to reach the massive scale of X or Meta’s Threads, it would need to offer unique forms of social connection. Therefore, the company is catering to users who desire more control over their online communities.
According to Alex Benzer, the head of product, Bluesky will soon allow users to create dedicated communities. These spaces will be given their own unique URLs and can be configured as public, private, or invite-only. The timing is particularly notable because X's Communities feature was shut down in April due to low usage and spam.
Additionally, chat participants can restrict who is allowed to invite them to conversations. Media sharing within group chats is not supported yet, as additional moderation systems must be implemented first. The company is betting that users would be enticed by open technologies where accounts are not disabled by rogue AI moderation. Finally, the update also introduced personalized QR codes for profile sharing.
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How do Bluesky's new group chats compare to X's group chats in terms of capacity?
Passive Voice
We use the passive voice when the focus is on the action or the object receiving the action, rather than who is performing it.
“The new feature was included in the latest app update.”
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Scenario: You are explaining a new software tool to your team.
- 01“This marks a significant shift in our workflow.”
- 02“The system can be configured flexibly.”
- 03“Invitations are restricted to team members only.”
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🔑Key Phrases
Used to describe an important change in direction or policy.
The company's decision represents a significant shift in the market.
A phrasal verb meaning to strengthen one's commitment to a particular strategy or course of action.
The manager doubled down on his plan despite the criticism.
A tech term for a visual preview of a link shown directly inside a post.
Twitter displays links as embedded cards to make them look better.
A formal way to say a company is trying a new long-term plan.
The new CEO announced a strategic shift toward green energy.
Describes artificial intelligence programs that delete accounts or posts unfairly without human oversight.
Many creators fear losing their channels to rogue AI moderation.
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Bluesky Rolls Out Group Chats in Strategic Shift Towards Communities
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