Twitter alternative Bluesky presents customized Super Bowl feeds (with and without Taylor Swift) | TechCrunch

Photo Credit: Patrick Smith/Staff/Getty ImagesTwitter/X alternative Bluesky is preparing for a major week in social media with the launch of a curated menu for Super Bowl fans. They have two feeds; one focuses on the big game talk while the other includes news about Taylor Swift, who is expected to be dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift’s attention to Kelce’s game has divided sports fans, prompting the NFL to defend its coverage of the star. This split helps showcase Bluesky’s support for algorithmic selection – a unique feature for a startup aiming to establish itself as a Twitter brand. On Bluesky, users have the freedom to choose from different types of feeds to create unique content. Some feeds are created by the Bluesky team, such as the “What’s Hot” feed, containing articles about current events, while others are created by the community, such as dedicated articles from official organizations or containing cute animal pictures, for example. Developers have also designed feed creation tools, like Bluesky Feed Creator and Skyfeed, allowing anyone to create their own feed using a monitor. To showcase its feed power, Bluesky has introduced two features related to the Super Bowl – one is the Super Bowl LVIII feed focused on football fans, and the other includes discussions of Taylor Swift. Bluesky has also targeted specific user preferences, illustrated by the naming of a feed “SB (Taylor’s Version).”

Emily Liu, a prominent member of the Bluesky team, mentioned that the decision to support multiple feeds came from the fact that some football fans do not want to see anything related to Taylor Swift in their football news. This is an example of the importance of customizing algorithmic choices. Users can personalize their website by favoriting specific feeds, making their Bluesky brand distinct. There are various themed feeds to choose from, offering different perspectives, such as “Mutuals” posts, “Celebrities with Your Friends,” or posts from “Quiet Banners” — for people who prefer not to chat. Despite not having a large fan base, Bluesky attracted significant attention upon its recent public launch. Within the first few days, Bluesky acquired 1.3 million active users, surpassing Mastodon’s current monthly user base, which is another open source Twitter competitor built on a different protocol. In total, Bluesky now has more than 4.5 million active users.

Image Credit: BlueskyWhether these customized feeds will maintain long-term appeal is uncertain. Despite facing several competitors, Bluesky has proven to be successful in attracting users, maintaining a stronghold in sports commentary and analysis. Users are embracing these new tools to manage their networks, creating a habit that is difficult for sports fans to break, similar to that on Twitter.

Author: OpenAI