I left Twitter when Musk took over. Not in a dramatic “I’m outta here” post, just quietly, after the staff firings started. I couldn’t stay there and feel good about it. It felt wrong—watching people who built the place be tossed aside overnight, and the whole platform start tilting into something colder.

In hindsight, stepping away might’ve saved me a headache. I missed the spiral into right-wing shouting, blue check chaos, and the general vibe shift from scrappy to cynical. But for a long time after, I wandered. I tried Mastodon, even set up a proper account and gave it a fair go. But it never really scratched the itch. It felt more like talking into a void than being part of a conversation. Something was missing.

Then Bluesky came along—and something clicked.

It reminds me of why I liked Twitter in the first place, way back in 2009. A mix of curiosity, spontaneity, and those odd, delightful little moments you’d stumble across. Not everything had to go viral. You could just share stuff and find your people.

A few reasons it’s working for me:

It’s small, but that’s not a bad thing

Bluesky’s still growing, but I like that. The noise is dialled down. There’s less performative posting, fewer “look at me” threads. I log in and see real people having real thoughts. It doesn’t feel like a brand playground or a politics dump site. Not yet, anyway. I really hope it stays that way.

The timeline makes sense again

It’s chronological by default. That means I see posts from people I follow, in the order they posted them. Revolutionary, I know. But after the algorithmic mess that Twitter became—where you’d be served outrage bait or random influencer tweets you never asked for—this feels clean. Functional.

There are also custom feeds, so you can tailor your experience. You want a feed just for tech news, or one with only funny posts? You can set that up. It’s yours, not something dictated by a black box trying to keep you doom-scrolling.

No ads. No pay-for-visibility nonsense.

On X, it’s all a hustle now. If you haven’t paid for a blue check, your posts are buried. Engagement gets throttled. It’s like being punished for not buying in.

Bluesky hasn’t gone down that road. There’s no obvious game to play, no “opt-in for clout” scheme. It’s a relief, honestly. It means the posts I see are there because someone had something to say—not because they paid to get boosted.

It’s still being built—and with some care

There are no DMs yet. No video uploads. And sure, it’s still missing a few things. But the pace feels deliberate. Like the people behind it are trying to build something sustainable, not something flashy. After the last few years of social media chaos, that feels like a gift.

Also: it’s decentralized. Which means, technically speaking, your identity and content aren’t locked to one platform. That’s future-proofing. And it’s kind of comforting.

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I don’t know if Bluesky will stay this good. Social platforms always change when more people show up, or when money starts pushing on the edges. But for now, it feels like home again.

Like 2009 Twitter before it became a megaphone for billionaires and brand bots.

Here’s hoping it stays that way.

As always, be excellent to each other.