{"id":7105,"date":"2024-12-26T13:54:45","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T13:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/?p=7105"},"modified":"2024-12-26T14:05:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T14:05:36","slug":"what-does-the-x-exodus-to-bluesky-mean-for-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/index.php\/what-does-the-x-exodus-to-bluesky-mean-for-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the X exodus to Bluesky mean for\u00a0journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Craig Robertson<\/a>, University of Oxford<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When Elon Musk took over Twitter and changed its name to X, many users vowed to move to another platform. First was talk of a shift to Mastodon<\/a> that never seemed to catch on<\/a>. Then Meta tried to make Threads appealing by linking the app to Instagram \u2013 but this hasn\u2019t had much cut-through<\/a> either. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s Bluesky\u2019s turn. In the weeks since the US election, the platform has grown rapidly<\/a> as users flee X.<\/p>\n

This is partly because Musk\u2019s involvement in Donald Trump\u2019s election campaign clearly showed where his political allegiances lay. But he has also fundamentally changed how people see X as a platform, particularly as a place to get good-quality journalism. <\/p>\n

Many of those flocking to Bluesky have been publishers, news organisations and journalists, sending a message that they no longer see X as a valuable space to post their reporting. A group of UK journalists signed an open letter<\/a> calling X \u201cno longer a useful tool for objective reporting\u201d.<\/p>\n

Right now, Bluesky still remains very small compared to X. Getting official and widely agreed-upon user numbers is difficult, but estimates put X\u2019s worldwide userbase at around 600 million<\/a>, with small declines in recent months. <\/p>\n

In comparison, Bluesky reported 13 million users<\/a> in October, with increases following the US election. Estimates vary wildly, however, if you choose different metrics like daily active<\/a> or monthly active users.<\/p>\n

Our 2024 Digital News Report data<\/a> at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (from surveys fielded in January) puts the proportion of adults using X for any purpose at 25% in both the US and UK. Meanwhile, 15% of people in the US and 14% of people in the UK report using X for news. Our figures are similar to those of Pew Research Center<\/a> and Ofcom<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As for Bluesky, usage barely registered in our 2024 data. Usage for any purpose was 2% in the US and 1% in the UK. <\/p>\n

Facebook and YouTube are still the most widely used platforms in the UK and US, followed by Instagram.<\/p>\n