In the two years since Elon Musk bought the Twitter platform and renamed it X, the vibes have been on a steady downward trajectory. Whether it was the removal of verified accounts leading to impersonation and fake accounts, porn bots leaving comments on every popular post, or the algorithm seemingly rewarding people for arguing, it’s been harder and harder to enjoy spending time on that platform.
Luckily, we now have multiple new platforms that are aiming to provide the mainly text-based “micro-blogging” social media experience that made Twitter so popular in the first place. In one corner there’s Threads, which first launched in March 2023 and is backed by Meta / Facebook, the biggest name in the social media game. In the other corner you have Bluesky, which originally launched in 2019, but has recently gained over 10 million users since the 2024 U.S. election.
While it does seem like a David vs. Goliath situation when Threads is owned by Mark Zuckerberg and allows you to sign in using your existing Instagram account, both platforms seem to be co-existing now because they are aiming for different experiences. Which one is best for you depends on what you aim to get out of the platform. Having been a user on both platforms for a few months now, here are some of the things I’ve noticed that separates them.
Building your following list
The first thing you do when you sign up for a new social media site is build a list of people to follow. Because Threads is linked to Instagram, after signing up you are given the opportunity to follow all the Threads accounts of your Instagram follows. This ensures you start your time on the site with a lot of content to engage with. However, most people use Instagram to follow people they already know IRL, so this onboarding can make your Threads feed feel like Facebook, with a lot of friends and family and not a lot of super engaging content.
Bluesky’s solution to this is the “starter pack.” A starter pack is a curated list of accounts that you can follow all at once. Users can create and share starter packs with whichever accounts they like, and it makes it super easy to get a feed going of the topics you are interested in, like people covering a specific sports team, or news from a specific city. With a few good starter packs, you can have an awesome feed up and running in no time.
News Vs Discussion
When Twitter was in its prime, it was by far the “newsiest” of all the social media. If there was breaking news going on anywhere, you could find more info and first-hand accounts of it on Twitter. If your favorite sports team was playing a game, you could go there to read play-by-play announcements and analysis from fans and team beat reporters, sometimes even before you saw it on TV (spoiler alert!). The main difference between Threads and Bluesky currently is this concept of newsyness. Bluesky is attempting to recreate the feel of old Twitter, with a chronological feed that prioritizes new posts, while Threads is going for a different vibe, specifically limiting political content, not offering a chronological feed, and giving more reach to posts that gain a lot of comments and engagement.
Which one is right for you really depends on what you are trying to get out of the platform. If you are looking for up-to-the-minute news and political content, Bluesky is the way to go. If you’re looking for something more akin to an old web forum, with debates, discussion, and more of a community feel, definitely give Threads a shot. In the end, however, since both sites offer unique experiences, try giving both a try and see which one ends up scratching that social media itch the best for yourself!