Elon Musk’s stubbornness sinks Twitter and boosts competitor Bluesky

Who would have thought that blocking X in Brazil would transform the Blueskya previously modest platform, now the new darling of Brazilians? Created by Jack Dorsey in 2019, when he was still in charge of Twitterthe Bluesky It seemed like another one of those internal projects that no one paid much attention to. But, in 2021, he decided to take off solo. And what a flight, huh?

Breaking records

Last Friday, Bluesky announced that Brazil was “breaking records” on the platform. Could anyone have predicted that the X blockade, decided by Alexander de Moraesof the STFwas the boost that the social network needed? It seems that fate loves a twist. After all, Elon Muskowner of X, perhaps did not imagine that his battle with Moraes would end up giving wings to a rival network.

X-blocking

The blocking of X was justified by the fact that it promoted extremist and anti-democratic speech. Furthermore, Musk, ever the rebel, did not follow court orders or appoint a legal representative in Brazil. As a result, Anatel was called in to ensure that X was blocked throughout the country. And guess what? Brazilians, with their talent for improvisation, migrated en masse to other networks.

Bluesky

THE Blueskywith its 300-character limit per post and the ability to share photos and text, has seen a boom in new users and interactions. It’s not every day that a platform “alternative” is flooded with new profiles. In a statement, the Bluesky even sounded a little surprised, admitting that the number of new Brazilian users was “growing every minute“Who would have thought we would need a blockade to discover the network?

Currently with 7.3 million users around the world, Bluesky is apparently one of the few that does not reveal where its users are. But don’t worry, they fondly remember that Brazilians were one of the first communities to embark on this blue adventure. And, of course, they promise to moderate inappropriate content, because no one wants the new sensation to become the old nightmare.

Threads

Meanwhile, the Threadsfrom Meta, also decided to show up at the party. Launched in July 2023, Threads is practically a clone of X, with the advantage of being connected to Instagram. This way, users can follow their friends with a simple click. There’s nothing like copying in style and still attracting millions of new users, especially when the competitor is punished.

In short, blocking X in Brazil was the best marketing campaign that Bluesky could have. Perhaps not even in the wildest dreams of Jack Dorsey the platform could have imagined such rapid and unexpected growth. Moral of the story? Sometimes it takes a collapse for something new to come to life.

Summary for those in a hurry:

• The X blockade in Brazil caused Bluesky to explode in popularity.
• Bluesky, created by Jack Dorsey, was a project that no one took very seriously.
• With X blocked, Brazilians migrated en masse to Bluesky, breaking records.
• Bluesky is now moderating content with a global and local team.
• Meta’s Threads also gained new users in the wake of the lockdown.
• The irony? X-blocking was the best thing that could have happened to Bluesky.