If you’ve heard of Bluesky, you’ve probably heard of it as a clone of Twitter where liberals can take refuge. But under the hood it’s structured fundamentally differently—in a way that could point us to a healthier internet for everyone, regardless of politics or identity.

The new organization wants to build on the open-source, user-defined model of the increasingly popular platform Bluesky, in case it, too, comes under the control of a billionaire owner.

Considering that budget is also a concern, one way to lower risk is to partner with micro-influencers, including those on local and regional levels. And don’t forget about your own team. Employee brand ambassadors can bring a level of authenticity to your brand persona that speaks to potential customers on both the B2C and B2B sides.

Since Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion and turned it into X, the biggest beneficiary of the ensuing exodus of mostly left-leaning users has been Meta. Its rival offering, Threads, has attracted some 300 million users, far outpacing alternatives such as Bluesky and Mastodon.

Free Our Feeds, which includes support from the Mozilla Foundation, is working with Bluesky to make sure the open source social media landscape is robust — even if it means more competition for Bluesky itself.

Whenever Meta is embroiled in controversy, people rush to boycott Facebook. But its other flagship property, Instagram, often seems to dodge the backlash.

The initiative, Free Our Feeds, aims to protect Bluesky’s underlying technology, the AT Protocol, and leverage it to create an open social media ecosystem that can’t be controlled by a single company or billionaires,

Love Bluesky, but wish you had an Instagram alternative too? See how the Flashes app may be exactly what you need.

An independent developer is working on a new Instagram-like app based on Bluesky called Flashes that will release in the coming weeks.

In a post on Bluesky, the Twitter-alternative social media site, author Stephen King said he would not be voting as a member of the Academy this year. He further stated, “IMHO they should cancel them [the Oscars]. No glitz with Los Angeles on fire.”

This week’s Crypto Biz features Meta’s censorship of decentralized social media networks, Tether’s lawsuit against Swan Bitcoin, and the potential sale of TikTok’s US operations to Elon Musk.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has reached a settlement agreement with two Georgia election workers, allowing him to keep many of his assets and properties in exchange for him never again engaging in the defamation that led to a judgment against him nearly two years ago.