With Bluesky currently growing at 1m users a day, and November 2024 seeing the stampede – or perhaps a “quest” – of Salesforce Trailblazers, now is a good time to join. There’s even tools out there to help you move over if you are a Twitter alumni.

In this article I’ll cover:

• The benefits of social media and Bluesky in particular
• The downsides
• Why now?
• Introducing Bluesky
• Tips to get started on Bluesky
• Stretch goal
• Final thought

Note: Feel free to skip to “Introducing Bluesky” if you want. Those who didn’t dig Twitter (“X”) but are wondering whether to dive in, may want to read the rest too.

The benefits of social media and Bluesky in particular

These benefits were once true of Twitter, then became less so, but are now gradually becoming true of Bluesky instead:

• That you can connect with people across different geographies, which is typically the biggest divide in the Trailblazer Community
• That you can interact with and follow people that you don’t come across in everyday life
• That you can gain fresh perspectives from people with different life journeys
• That you can peek into different sectors, industries, technologies and hobbies with real ease
• That you can consume as much or as little as you want
• That it is good for the shyer types – standing around and being quiet is absolutely fine
• That you can participate as much or as little as you want, and change this depending on where you are in life… or if simply at a Dreamin conference and feeling very excited!

The downsides

You can have too much of a good thing. Especially if the Good Thing(™) is deliberately designed to spike your dopamine! Or to give a specific example: likes on social media do not validate your existence. 

So consider setting boundaries. When using social media, decide whether you want your social media app available all the time, or whether you will use an app such as AppBlock to help maintain your mental health. Being always on isn’t a good thing.

Australia, for instance, is currently working on banning social media apps for under 16s after medical evidence has shown the long term problems it can cause.

Even if you spot other people being online all the time, remember that we all make individual choices, and different people have different obligations – you have no idea of whether being “online” is part of their job role, they have (few) other commitments in life, or whether they just find it more fun.

Why now?

I think this is a known quantity, but when a new owner comes in and changes the fundamentals of a platform people are using and (mainly) enjoying, this brings risk.

Amongst the most engaged in the Trailblazer Community, it used to be all about Twitter.

In 2022 Elon Musk bought Twitter. He fundamentally changed the product so that you could literally buy influence, by buying a blue tick for example, which would mean your posts get prioritised above others. Previously Twitter may have been a bit opaque in its algorithms – definitely not AI, because AI is shiny and new – but if you were careful in who you followed, it really shone a light on the great stuff happening in the ecosystem, including all the breaking news, and people just simply helping each other out. Shortly after the purchase, Musk literally overrode that. I blocked Musk and yet his account still appeared in my feed. Not cool. And quite frankly it didn’t feel like a safe space either as he fired those in charge of moderation and safety on the platform, and didn’t replace them.

Musk bought the platform, so I guess he’s “entitled” to do those things, especially if you ignore social responsibility. Thankfully I am equally entitled to look for alternatives.

Like all things, not every experiment will work (sorry Mastadon!), but Bluesky has managed to tick the boxes and get critical mass for positive reasons (features, detailed in the next section) and negative (“trust thermocline”, reckoned to be the biggest risk to business; article well worth a read!).

Pei has joined Bluesky

Introducing Bluesky

Bluesky was founded in 2019. Like a breath of – forgive me – fresh air. It foresaw the dangers of a closed algorithm tied to one supplier. Its aim is to be decentralised. More about Bluesky and its business model can be read here; almost like they are practising what they are preaching in terms of transparency 😍

Rather than rushing, it was only earlier this year that Bluesky became available for anyone to set up their own account. The product team wanted the product to be stable and usable first. There are lessons here for business owners and many in the Salesforce community I feel!

Features I particularly like, and show the intention (values!) behind the platform include

• Only those who you actively follow will appear in your timeline. You follow who you follow. This is a deliberate choice. Random posts by other people won’t appear unless someone you follow reposts them. And even that you have the choice of switching off.
• Most recent post by default. Transparent ordering here – no random post from two weeks ago (yes, I’m looking at you LinkedIn!).
• When you block someone – regardless of reason – they stay blocked. I get to choose. No one else. And actually this is the recommended approach on the platform, block rather than engage with someone who has diametrically opposed opinions to you because 250 character platforms aren’t a space for changing minds. We need to recognise that – it’s just like real life, in that we are unlikely to get along with everyone. Some people sap our particular energy.
• Safety and choice are a thing.When someone quotes you, and you don’t like what they say, you can remove your post from their timeline.
• There is a moderation team.
• Bluesky, the company, has the energy of a startup – exploring, being excited, rapidly developing and iterating, and listening to feedback.

It’s weird to have to write about safety, but that’s the world we live in. I’m glad that Bluesky has it baked in by default. That said, your data – even direct messages – are not encrypted. Presume everything you post is public.

Salesforce has also just joined Bluesky 

Tips to get started on Bluesky

Now comes to the existing part. I’m going to list these but order of priority. Set up the basics first, and then get on to the exciting features!

1. Set up your account. You’re in the Salesforce ecosystem. I reckon you can figure this out.
2. Decide whether you want to use a .bsky handle or have a domain handle (e.g. @apexhours.com). If you do have a personal domain or are a corporate, I strongly recommend you go for a domain handle. That said, it’s no biggie either way and you can change it later if you want.
3. Set up an automatic notification/pause so you never forget to use alt text again, meaning those who can’t see images know what the image is about. It’s a really inclusive measure and very popular. Some of the alt text can also be quite fun!
4. Open up your DMs so that people can message you, even if you don’t follow them. In my experience it’s not spammy. People that want to get in touch with you about specific matters, rather than sales, tend to be the people using this, and it enables you to meet others.
5. Consider adding a Salesforce starter pack. These are curated lists of individuals all of whom are grouped by a topic. By clicking on a starter pack you get to follow everyone in one go. Anyone can create a starter pack, so particular thanks go to Tristan for creating the initial Trailblazer Community starter pack, and Zach for gathering many of them together, as a list, in one place. 

• Trailblazer Community
• Salesforce news and blogs
• Salesforce WIT
• Golden Hoodies
• Outforce
• MVPs
• and there are plenty more Salesforce and non-Salesforce starter packs too

There’s a growing range of Bluesky-specific apps. From different Bluesky posting and reading apps, to a Twitter migration tool which will include the accounts you currently follow on the other platform and follow them on Bluesky, to tools that will surface the occasional posters in your timeline. Lots of choices, and growing all the time.

Simply unfollow someone if they don’t suit what you want to see in your feed – I start with a whole “starter” pack and then unfollow those that post too many cookery pictures for example, as those are not good for my waistline!

Go large or go small. You don’t have to add everyone. It’s your choice. Ultimately you want to curate your feed so it works for you.

If you like something, and want others to see, click the “reshare” button. Likes do not make posts appear in other’s feeds, but resharing does, for those that follow you. This is intentional by the platform but it is different from Twitter.

Follow other people. It’s not all about Salesforce. Cakes and casseroles may not be my thing but do keep it balanced. Some other peeps I follow include Jay (CEO of Bluesky), Paul Frazee (irreverent techy working at Bluesky), John Bull (techy, writer about underrepresented groups in history, and poster of enough pictures of cats to make me finally understand a bit of what they are all about), Anna Wood (photographic studies of birds), and ADHDinos of course! Basically my method is to choose things that will make me smile, think, laugh and sometimes all three.

If you don’t like something you can simply use mute words or entire block lists to restore your (good) karma.

Stretch goal

Accessing custom feeds

Once you’ve done the basics, it’s time to explore the custom feeds which are access have the # symbol in the top right hand corner on the app. You can use hashtags or keywords to follow the topics you choose, or only posts and no reposts. Full disclosure: I haven’t done this yet.

Final thoughts

Figure out your intention – what do you want to achieve? Then, as with anything, the more effort you put into it the more you will get out of it. For me, I go for quality over quantity. I’ve been on Bluesky for a year and I’ve enjoyed the headspace. It’s been a beautiful, calm garden. I’m still exploring and discovering the platform however. It’s going to get busier now, but seeing beautiful flowers – that’s you folks – is still my aim.

About the Author

Paul Ginsberg is a Salesforce Consultant and neurodivergency advocate who is currently training to be an ADHD coach. You can read his blog here. He is also active on Bluesky.

With particular to Tristan Lomband for both improving this article and making the migration from Twitter to Bluesky so easy with his aforementioned starter pack! Additional thanks to Chris Harris for reviewing this article.