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What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the X competitor

Amanda Silberling, Cody Corrall, Alyssa Stringer — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Is the grass greener on the other side? We’re not sure, but the sky is most certainly bluer. It’s been two years since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now X, leading people to set up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (two of which have already shuttered operations) and Spill have been presented as potential […]

IRL social app Pie is coming to SF to make you less lonely

Amanda Silberling — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

After a robust career building Bonobos and advocating for founder mental health, Andy Dunn moved to Chicago with his family. A few years later, he came to a depressing realization: He hadn’t made any new friends. “I don’t think it’s easy to admit to yourself that you don’t have friends,” Dunn told TechCrunch, laughing. “It’s […]

Bluesky tops 20M users, narrowing gap with Instagram Threads

Sarah Perez — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:12:02 +0000

Bluesky, the social network and X competitor, has been benefiting from a surge of departures from the Elon Musk-owned app formerly known as Twitter. Today, Bluesky has hit a major milestone: it’s topped 20 million users. What’s more, new data indicates the app’s rapid growth is seeing it close the gap with another prominent X […]

Instagram will soon let you reset your recommendation algorithm

Aisha Malik — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Instagram is testing the ability for users to reset their recommendations, the company announced on Tuesday. By resetting your recommendations, you would be starting fresh and retraining the app’s algorithm about the content you enjoy across your Explore page, home feed, and Reels tab. The feature is geared toward users who feel like their content […]

Trump’s FCC pick has said he wants to ban TikTok, challenge Section 230

Amanda Silberling — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 21:58:49 +0000

Though President-elect Donald Trump has been expected to stop the looming ban on TikTok, his political appointments suggest otherwise. Trump announced on Sunday that he selected Brendan Carr to chair the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates the internet, news media, and other forms of communication. Carr, whom Trump appointed to the FCC in 2017, […]

Mastodon sees a boost from the ‘X exodus,’ too, founder says

Sarah Perez — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 18:44:43 +0000

Decentralized social network Mastodon is also seeing some uplift from the X “exodus,” founder Eugen Rochko shared on the platform just ahead of the weekend. While the Twitter-like startup Bluesky has been capturing headlines and attention for its rapid adoption among former X users, a smaller group has apparently turned to the open source networking […]

Partiful is Google’s ‘best app’ of 2024

Sarah Perez — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:31:18 +0000

Partiful, the New York-based event-planning app that’s taking on older solutions like Evite, Eventbrite, and Facebook Events, has been named Google’s app of the year, the tech giant announced on Monday as part of its “best apps and games of 2024” list. The list also highlighted the top game, AFK Journey, alongside other category winners […]

Beyoncé to perform live on Netflix during NFL Christmas Gameday stream

Dominic-Madori Davis — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 15:27:42 +0000

Beyoncé is headed to Netflix. The singer will perform live during the halftime show during the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens Christmas Day game, which is set to be streamed on Netflix as part of its newly minted three-year deal with the NFL. “Your early Christmas wish has been granted as Beyoncé will perform during Netflix’s […]

Roblox no longer allows users under 13 to message others outside of games

Aisha Malik — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Roblox will not let users under the age of 13 message others outside of games and experiences on the platform, the company said Friday. Roblox also announced a series of other built-in protections for young users, such as age-gating certain experiences, along with enhanced parental controls. Roblox has been criticized for failing to protect children […]

What is Bluesky when it’s not the underdog?

Anthony Ha — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 19:51:11 +0000

Bluesky is having a moment — a moment that’s already stretched on for nearly three months. Over the summer, the social media app saw a wave of new sign-ups in Brazil after X (formerly Twitter) was temporarily banned there. And in the United States, unhappiness with changes at X, and with owner Elon Musk’s close […]

Disgruntled X users make the switch to Bluesky

Cody Corrall — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 21:06:00 +0000

Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re breaking down Bluesky’s big surge in users, Elon Musk co-leading Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” and Mark Zuckerberg’s latest foray in extreme wife-guy behavior. Let’s go. Bluesky is seeing a major surge as X users unhappy with the platform’s latest policy decisions make the move to […]

TikTok parent ByteDance reportedly values itself at $300B

Anthony Ha — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 17:26:40 +0000

ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, valued itself at $300 billion in a recent share buyback offer, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. That number might sound familiar, as the WSJ previously reported on a ByteDance buyback offer at a $300 billion valuation back in September 2022. But a year […]

Unlike X, Bluesky says it won’t train AI on your posts

Aisha Malik — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 21:26:11 +0000

Bluesky, a social network that’s experiencing a surge in users this week as users abandon X, says it has “no intention” of using user content to train generative AI tools. The social network made the announcement on the same day that X (formerly Twitter) is implementing its new terms of service that allow the platform […]

How social app Spill plans to capitalize on the exodus from X

Dominic-Madori Davis — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 15:47:13 +0000

Social networking rivals continue to benefit from the user exodus from X. Spill, the social app founded by two former Twitter employees, released a statement claiming it has also seen a jump in users after the U.S. presidential election, following similar news by Bluesky, which gained more than 2 million users during that time. The startup, […]

As Bluesky surges, Threads begins testing custom feeds

Sarah Perez — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 15:44:52 +0000

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday announced the company’s X competitor, Threads, would begin testing custom feeds for specific topics and profiles, making it easier for users to find communities and conversations that interest them. The news follows the rapid growth of the social networking startup and X rival, Bluesky, which prioritizes tools that allow […]

Bluesky says 1 million people signed up for the platform in last 24 hours

Ivan Mehta — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 03:37:27 +0000

Bluesky said Thursday evening that over 1 million people signed up for the platform in the last 24 hours, making it one of the busiest days for the company. This also meant the social network crossed the mark of 16 million users overall. The platform’s announcement comes hours after Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that […]

How to use Bluesky, the Twitter-like social app taking on Elon Musk’s X

Sarah Perez — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:53:05 +0000

Bluesky is continuing to blow up. The Twitter-like service and alternative to Elon Musk’s X, has now surpassed 16 million users after seeing rapid growth in the days following the U.S. presidential election. While many are leaving X over the service’s increasing right-wing leanings and Musk’s campaigning for Trump, others are unhappy with other changes […]

Bluesky is courting the Swifties

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:20:30 +0000

Bluesky has grown by 2 million users — about 15% — since Donald Trump won the U.S. election last week. But the emerging social platform isn’t just acting as a refuge for left-leaning X users who are disappointed in Elon Musk’s alliance with the president-elect. A community of Taylor Swift fans, or Swifites, has also […]

YouTube chases TikTok with new gifting feature for vertical livestreams

Aisha Malik — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:50:02 +0000

YouTube is launching a new way for creators to earn money during vertical livestreams, the company announced on Thursday. Viewers can now buy “Jewels,” a digital currency, to send “gifts” to creators. Gifts are animations that appear on screen during vertical livestreams. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s similar to TikTok’s live gifting feature […]

Meta slapped with a €798M fine in Europe over anticompetitive Marketplace practices

Ingrid Lunden — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 14:07:07 +0000

Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been hit with yet another huge regulatory fine in Europe, this time over abusive practices related to Facebook Marketplace. The European Commission announced that it would fine Meta €797.72 million — nearly $840 million — for breaching EU antitrust rules connected to how it ties its […]