Social media start-up Bluesky is exploding as academics, journalist, and left-leaning politicians abandon Elon Musk ’s X in search of bluer skies. Now, the platform has surpassed Meta ’s Threads in user numbers, yet Threads still leads in app usage.

Journalists, academics, and companies are fleeing Elon Musk’s chaotic X (formerly Twitter) in droves, and Bluesky is quickly becoming their platform of choice. Why Bluesky over Threads? Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to downplay political content on Threads appears to have turned off many users seeking vibrant public discourse.

I’ve been covering Bluesky ever since I got my invite in April 2023. I’ve felt the platform has always had promise, especially with features like feeds with custom algorithms

On Thursday, Mosseri announced a major change to Threads' algorithm to compete with the likes of Bluesky. The social media platform is "rebalancing ranking to prioritize content from people you follow, which will mean less recommended content from accounts you don't follow and more posts from the accounts you do starting today."