The internet is like a never-ending buffet of options, with something for everyone.
In particular, there are so many social media platforms that it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with just one. This is because together, the offer a massive buffet of online personalities, trends, and memes. They offer people the ability to endlessly scroll to oblivion, enjoy the visuals, hear the hot takes, follow some family dramas, and experience the politics first hand.
With all these choices, it’s no wonder people can spend hours hopping between apps trying to figure out which one is the right place to post.
Since the X exodus that happens following Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, an increasing number of people start to feel that they're lost.
They mourn for the old Twitter.
And Bluesky wants to be that place, despite the choices are too many to choose from.
Merry Christmas from us to you We launched Trending Topics today, and you can find it by tapping the search icon on the bottom bar of the app or the right sidebar on desktop.
[image or embed]— Bluesky (@bsky.app) December 26, 2024 at 8:09 AM
Here, Bluesky, the upstart social network is beta testing a trending topics feature that could help users keep up with current events.
Decentralized in nature, the social media platform has long avoided a heavily algorithmic approach. But its unique approach that has long been its advantage, is giving it a hard time in keeping up with users' preferences, as well as keeping up with breaking news and big time sports, politics, and cultural events more.
Bluesky is seeing more difficulties than what Twitter was.
This is why the list of Trending topics that lets users know what subjects are popular among its users, is being tested in beta.
And it's also customizable.
Users can access this feature by selecting the search icon, which appears at the bottom of the screen on the mobile app and on the left sidebar on the web.
Lists of Trending and Recommended subjects then appear below the search bar.
Users can tap on any topic, and they will be able to access the associated posts.
According to the announcement, this feature is "V1," and marked as a beta on the app. Bluesky said that "we will be iterating with your feedback."
"Merry Christmas from us to you," said Bluesky on its announcement.
Read: 'Parody, Satire, Or Fan Accounts Are Allowed On Bluesky,' But They Must Label Themselves
Details about Trending:
This is v1 and we will be iterating with your feedback
You can disable it with the X button or in Settings
Your mute words transfer to Trending!
English only for now, while we test it
[image or embed]— Bluesky (@bsky.app) December 26, 2024 at 8:12 AM
But again, by not relying on algorithms like what social media platforms in general do, Bluesky may have some difficulties in surfacing what's really trending on its own platform.
While users can muter words or phrases they don't like to be shown on the list, this acts more like a filter, not that it affects the ability of the feature to show (or not to show) certain topics.
As a result of this, at least initially, the feature hasn’t been universally acclaimed by some users.
However, a lot of users who wish to experience the old Twitter for at least once more in their life time, are praising this feature.
This is because to them, the newer Twitter had become a cesspool so large that its toxicity was caused by people (and bots) that manipulated the algorithms and pushed bad actor accounts to the top of everyone’s feed.
Being decentralized, Bluesky hopes it can be a safer place for those who seek refuge on its platform. And if they fine with that, Bluesky has its arms open to embrace them.
Just before this, Bluesky has just hit a big milestone with 25 million users, helped with an increasing number of new users who fled X following the U.S. elections.
Read: How 'Bluesky' Finally Became The Old-School Twitter That X Could Never Be