BUSINESS EDU A Different Kind of Blue: The Social Media App Bluesky – by Cathryn Castle Garcia, Co-Owner C2G2 Productions, The Azores Cathryn Castle Garcia is a writer, business strategist and co-owner of C2G2Productions.com, a multimedia production company. She lives on Faial Island in the Azores.
The proverb “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” dates back thousands of years, but in branding and marketing terms, it might need a makeover thanks to the rise in popularity of the social media platform Bluesky. Its new account signups sky- rocketed from 13 million to more than
(AT) Protocol (https://atproto.com). This means anyone can see how it works and can even build their own apps that can interact with Bluesky. (If I’m honest, this part is a bit beyond my tech skills and my interests. You won’t find me building my own apps anytime soon.) Another interesting feature of Bluesky is account portability. With most social networks, if you leave, you leave empty-
handed. You lose your identity, your posts, your followers. But because Bluesky is built on the AT Protocol, if you decide to switch to another social network that uses the AT Pro- tocol, you can take your username, followers, and content with you. Another attractive feature of
24 million in the last quarter of 2024. Bluesky’s bump is undoubtedly linked to the announcement made on January 7 by Meta Platforms, Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg that Meta is abandoning its third-party fact-
checking program. Critics say this will likely result in widespread distribution of misinformation on the company’s social media platforms, including Meta (formerly Facebook), Instagram, and
Bluesky is that it makes social media more customizable and gives you more control over what you see–including offering more options to block or mute content, accounts, hashtags, and more. Perhaps the coolest feature of Bluesky is that you can use your own website address as your profile handle. Using a cus- tom domain helps boost your brand because it gives you greater credibility. Is Bluesky the New Green? Do you have to immediately ditch your old, familiar Facebook or Insta accounts and make the switch to Bluesky? In a word, no. You don’t. In fact, I’m a total newbie on Bluesky, and I’m not digging it yet. I still prefer to market my business offline- through personal contact, word-of-mouth referrals, in-person meetings, and (gasp) handwritten postcards sent by mail. My business success has always centered on making strong one- on-one connections with my clients. Yes, I use social media, but sparingly. So why write an article about Bluesky? Because I need to stay informed. And so do you. It appears the tides are changing in the social media world. The changes are subtle, but they could become substantial.
Threads. Rather than get into the complicated and politically charged discus- sion of fact-checking on so- cial media, this article will focus on the features and benefits of Bluesky and how you can use it for your dive business’s marketing needs. Bluesky Basics
1. Go to bsky.app and click on the “Sign Up” button. 2.Enter your email address, cre- ate a password and enter your date of birth.
Bluesky is a microblog- ging social media platform where you can post short comments, photos, videos, and links. It’s more like X (Twitter) than Meta (Face- book), which makes sense because it was started by former X CEO Jack Dorsey. What makes Bluesky differ- ent from other social media platforms is that it’s built on a decentralized social network protocol called the Atmosphere 3.Choose a username. This will be your handle on the Bluesky platform. 4. Add a pro fi le photo or avatar and click on the personalization tabs that fi t your areas of in- terest. 5. Be sure to announce your new Bluesky pro fi le on all your social channels and include it in your email newsletter and on your website so your existing audi- ence can easily fi nd you.
I’d love to know what you’re doing with your social media. Please click or scan the QR code to email me at hello@clearstorycoach.com to share your thoughts.
email Cathryn
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