To celebrate Bluesky crossing the threshold of 20 million users, the decentralised social media platform's chief executive Jay Graber posted 20 facts about the company, among which was the story behind its name.
“The name Bluesky was originally a placeholder for the project started by Twitter to build an open social protocol,” she wrote, referring to the platform's origins many years ago before it was eventually launched in 2021 as an invitation-only app until 2024.
“It gave us time to grow the network responsibly and build our trust and safety team,” she added.
Bluesky started as a side-project initiated by former Twitter founder Jack Dorsey in 2019, when he was chief executive of the company. He chose Ms Graber, one of the engineers at Twitter, to lead the project. Coincidentally her first name, Lantian, means 'blue sky' in Chinese.
The idea behind the project was rooted in the vision for a social network that Mr Dorsey had always wanted at Twitter before he took the company public, a move he later regretted.
Once Twitter went public, it came under scrutiny of a board and increasing pressure to monetise. Bluesky, however, methodically kept evolving.
Throughout this evolution process, a series of unforeseen circumstances in the form of heightened political rhetoric, the sale of Twitter and the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, would help push Bluesky into the spotlight.
After Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022, Twitter severed all legal and financial ties with Bluesky Social. And following Mr Trump's victory on November 6, Bluesky was in the right place at the right time and has experienced a continued spurt of growth amid a backlash against Twitter and its Trump-backing owner Elon Musk.
All that said, media platforms can be fickle. MySpace had a surge back in 2003, only to whither away as Meta's Facebook skyrocketed to popularity. Even Facebook's influence isn't ironclad, with TikTok increasingly eating away at its cultural influence among younger and middle aged social media users.
Then, of course, there's Twitter now known as X, which was launched in 2006, and slowly but surely grew as a go-to platform for posting quick opinions, news stories and random life updates. Twitter grew methodically, and its no frills approach ensured stability amid the choppy social media waters.
That is of course, until it was purchased by Mr Musk, who cut jobs in the company, eliminated a lot of the human moderators, and proceeded to allow users who had previously been banned for posting hate speech on the platform.
The initial anger led to a mass departure of people and companies from the platform. Despite this, Mr Musk insisted that X, a name he chose himself, remained a global town square for those seeking to communicate. Some disagreed however, saying that the town square felt increasingly empty, tired and occasionally toxic.
Then, as the 2024 US presidential campaign heated up, Mr Musk became more vocal about his support for Mr Trump, posting dozens of messages of support each day, and bashing the Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Deactivations on X have surged
Ultimately, when Donald Trump emerged victorious, that was a tipping point that prompted hundreds of thousands more users to leave X.
Some went to Meta's Threads platform, others left social media altogether, but many turned to Bluesky.
With more than 20 million users now, Bluesky appears to have the wind at its back, although it is still a fledgling platform compared to X's estimated 400 million-500 million active users.
“For Bluesky, the fact that it's so similar to Twitter, and it feels the most similar, in terms of the vibe and personality with people posting regularly, really works in its favour,” said Matt Navarra, a social media consultant and analyst who was among the first to join Bluesky when it debuted back in 2021.
He added that, although other platforms have also seen a surge in interest, such as Meta's Threads and Mastodon, Bluesky's almost identical interface and prioritisation of real-time news and information made it a more comfortable transition for those seeking to leave X for something similar.
Meta, he said, has acknowledged that it does not want to prioritise news or political content on Threads, and Mastodon's cumbersome sign-up process has left an opening that Bluesky has been able to exploit.
“All the platforms out there are seeing a continued post-Trump growth, but Bluesky is at a big tipping point,” he said.
“Will Threads backtrack on its stance on political and news content? That seems unlikely but if they really want to make it a direct competitor to what Twitter is, maybe they'll change their minds.
Mr Navarra said his account was attracting hundreds of followers each day on Bluesky, and that he's now posting there on a more regular basis, seeing content engagement and in turn, clicks on his content.
The familiarity, he said, combined with the additions of elements that once made X popular, seem to be helping Bluesky maintain interest from curious users.
“You can really control your algorithm there, and you have more power in terms of content moderation,” he said, pointing out that Bluesky is tightly integrated with what's referred to as the Fediverse, making it easier for users on the platform to post their content on other social apps quickly and easily.
“That part, the Fediverse won't matter much to the average user right now, but it will help creators who want to have more ownership over their audience in the long run,” he added.
US election prompted another “Xodus”
X's value was never in its size but in its influence. In 2021, an internal survey shared with the firm’s employees revealed that 80 per cent of users came to the platform to “stay informed”. It became the place where fandoms, communities and experts converged – whether for breaking news, niche interests or cultural movements like Black Twitter and LGBTQ+ communities. Tweets often pre-empted news headlines, influencing media far beyond the platform itself.
It remains to be seen if those communities and news organisations who helped build X into a powerhouse, will be able to regroup and sustain interest on platforms, even those platforms that share a striking resemblance to X like Bluesky.
Yet some niche and minority groups have begun to thrive, using features such as the “starter pack” list to connect with like-minded individuals. Academics, researchers, journalists, and experts are rediscovering each other, creating what feels like a digital reunion.
Despite all the interest and curiosity, there are plenty of cautionary tales that show the road ahead might be bumpy.
When Threads launched, it broke the record for the highest number of registrations for any social media app ever. But the hype quickly died down partly because its user strategy was flawed and confused. Meta, which owns Threads, had a huge advantage in that it could tap into their existing Instagram and Facebook users for sign-ups.
At the same time, Twitter leavers were joining in droves and what happened was this: Instagram users, mostly influencers and content creators with little experience using text-based community discussions, joined threads expecting it as an extension of Instagram. The Twitter users who joined had hoped to find real-time, self-curated, informative feeds. But Threads delivered neither.
Bluesky doesn't have any qualms about social feeds filled with real-time information, and it also offers a non-algorithmic, chronological feed along with greater user control, harking back to the simplicity that made Twitter so beloved.
Yet again despite ticking all these boxes, maintaining user interest for any social platform has proven to be difficult.
Post, a once much hyped news-based social app that closely resembled X, followed a similar strategy like Bluesky, but ultimately, interest waned and the platform closed earlier this year.
Mr Navarra, however, noted that Mr Musk shows no indication that he plans to lower his increasingly partisan noise on the platform, which could cause more users to leave in droves, despite X's claims that user interest and engagement is at an all-time high.
“I expect Bluesky and others to see another growth spurt as more people become aware and grow tired of Elon Musk's X,” he said, also pointing out that fears of disinformation and AI generated content going unchecked on X, might also fuel another 'Xodus'.
“It's definitely more of a concern for average users as well as regulators,” he added.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group C
Liverpool v Red Star Belgrade
Anfield, Liverpool
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Company%20Profile
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
