The 'migration phenomenon' of social platforms

Bluesky is a new platform, born as an offshoot of X (formerly Twitter), which has recently experienced remarkable growth. Among the factors behind this rise is the desire of many users to move away from X itself. Gabriele Balbi, Professor at the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and Pro-rector for Education and Students' Experience, shared his insights on the radio broadcast SEIDISERA (RETE UNO - RSI).

The migration from X to Bluesky can be driven by two main factors: First, it serves as a form of protest against Elon Musk's support for Donald Trump. Second, users are frustrated by the platform's lack of filtering for hate messages. Looking at Bluesky's numbers, its growth is evident, as noted by Professor Gabriele Balbi: "Since Trump's election, Bluesky has attracted approximately one million new users. Since September 2024, the platform has gained nine million new subscriptions, bringing its total user count to about 15 million. In contrast, X has experienced a significant year-on-year decline in both revenue and user numbers since its acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022".

Bluesky was founded by Jack Dorsey, one of the original creators of Twitter. This is why certain features, such as the ability to create posts with a character limit, are similar to those of X. However, there are also notable differences, as Professor Balbi explained: "One of the reasons Bluesky was conceived was to create a platform where users could create a server where they could store their data and create their own rules instead of using company-owned servers". Another notable difference concerns moderation: "Bluesky has a large team of moderators who are responsible for enforcing the community guidelines, avoiding the proliferation of hate speech as is the case on X".

However, user migration to Bluesky is not guaranteed. "Participating in a social platform is interesting when many acquaintances are active on it. Building a network of followers and connections takes several years, and recreating that network on a different platform requires a lot of effort. Therefore, migrating to Bluesky will not be easy.".

The full interview with Professor Gabriele Balbi on SEIDISERA (RETE UNO - RSI), is available at the following link ( min. 16:08). (Italian only)