Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains -- and bots

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 7:35 AM EST, December 22, 2024


Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, which they view as increasingly leaning too far to the right given its owner’s support of President-elect Donald Trump, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms.

The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter, championed by its former CEO Jack Dorsey. Its decentralized approach to social networking was eventually intended to replace Twitter’s core mechanic. That’s unlikely now that the two companies have parted ways. But Bluesky’s growth trajectory — with a user base that has more than doubled since October — could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms.

But with growth comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites.

The skyrocketing user base — now surpassing 25 million — is the biggest test yet for a relatively young platform that has branded itself as a social media alternative free of the problems plaguing its competitors. According to research firm Similarweb, Bluesky added 7.6 million monthly active app users on iOS and Android in November, an increase of 295.4% since October. It also saw 56.2 million desktop and mobile web visits, in the same period, up 189% from October.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/bluesky-growth-users-bots-misinformation-ce9df3b9166ec1ba36f3d5278ff60dcb

[samnsara]

1. we just block the bots

....im very selective who i follow in there. even tho we are encouraged to support each other..when some ones profile is a pic of them scantily clad and their message is 'lets have fun' then i block them.

otherwise i find the entire platform warm and welcoming....

[Dennis Donovan]

2. I get (what appears to be) 5 bot follow requests a day on Bluesky

When I get a follow request, I investigate the user - check their profile, timeline, which of my followers follow them, etc.

It's when you blindly accept follow requests that you get bots that insert crap in your timeline.

Probably not a perfect solution but it seems to keep my feed free of stuff that doesn't interest me.

[Maeve]

8. I have avoided bots so far by following your advice

New to the format, never was on Twitter so still feeling my way. Just wanted you to know your advice is appreciated!

[Dennis Donovan]

10. Happy to help and to follow you on Bluesky!

[GusBob]

3. Who needs to be on Bluesky to get bots

There is a fake post standing in GD with 140+ recs and a bunch of rube replies

SMH

[Dennis Donovan]

4. Yeah, when even the embedded tweets in the OP say it's fake...

...maybe time to self-delete?

[love_katz]

5. I make use of the block function.

And I also check the profile of the person requesting me to follow them. I ignore the obvious come ons like people who are selling stuff, people who just seem to want to hookup, and accounts that seem like they are AI generated or whose content doesn't interest me.

I report accounts that seem to be trolls or disrupters and then block them. It seems to work pretty well.

Hopefully, the admins over there will get the 📌 function sorted out.

However, I think DU will remain my preferred home.

[Maeve]

9. Again sharing appreciation for the advice!

I like Bluesky for news and have avoided bots by following the good advice I've gotten here on DU!

[PortTack]

6. This is no surprise....at least they're working on blocking bots continuously

[TBF]

7. I don't accept bot, AI, etc requests - only actual people who have a clearly

defined profile. That has worked for me and I add quite a few daily. I like democrats/liberals/leftists connecting. I also accept folks who are clearly in working class position (teachers etc) whether they have a political affiliation or not. It is the only way we're going to beat fascism.