Bluesky has experienced a remarkable surge, reaching 20 million users in a few weeks. This influx stems from growing dissatisfaction with Elon Musk's transformation of Twitter (now X), driven by user frustration over a lack of content moderation and claims of unchecked misinformation. The “Xodus”, as it has been dubbed by some, is happening, and users are migrating to what is viewed as a return to something like the “old Twitter”, Bluesky, which promises a digital utopia.
The original Twitter successfully branded itself as a sophisticated platform where intellectuals gathered. Twitter succeeded for a while in promoting its culture as one of greater freedom than other platforms. However, despite its outstanding reputation regarding freedom of expression, we can still remember the many times it failed communities in its moderation process. It was also rarely profitable.
Jack Dorsey, Twitter's co-founder, led the push to BlueSky, to an extent. However, in a surprising turn of events, Mr Dorsey deleted his Bluesky account in September of last year.
He has since redirected his focus and resources, contributing $5 million to Nostr, a social network with cryptocurrency connections. This donation was part of a larger $21 million philanthropic effort from his #startsmall initiative, signalling his continued interest in decentralised social media platforms, albeit through different channels.
When he left his second brainchild, BlueSky, Mr Dorsey stated that Bluesky was “literally repeating all the mistakes” Twitter made, particularly concerning content moderation, which he said he didn't expect given the open-source AT protocol approach to building it. Mr Dorsey's name and the use of the buzzwords in the social media world such as “open source” and “AT Protocol”, were already leading factors in BlueSky's appeal, but what does this mean for average users?
In a nutshell, BlueSky operates on an open-source system called the AT protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol). Unlike Twitter, which has always been a proprietary, centralised platform, BlueSky's AT protocol is designed to give users more control and flexibility. Think of it as a universal social media passport.
For example, you can choose different ways to view your feed based on your favourite areas of interest and people to follow. If you don't like your current platform, you can move to a new one without losing your username or followers. Imagine you're using Bluesky, and you're not happy with it. Because it is built using the AT protocol, you could switch to another app while keeping your username, posts, and followers – it's like moving houses but taking all your furniture and friends.
It's not to be mistaken with ActivityPub standard protocol, which offers a different kind of freedom. In this, you can imagine social media platforms as separate playgrounds in a big city. Usually, these playgrounds are disconnected, and players (users) in one can't interact with those in another. ActivityPub is a magical bridge connecting these playgrounds. It allows users to follow and interact with friends across social networks without leaving their favourite app.
If you prefer one platform, you can quickly move to another without losing friends or posts. Your content could reach people on other platforms, like shouting from one playground to another.
Both protocols aim to make social media more user-friendly and empower individuals by giving them more control over algorithms. They strive to make social media feel more personal rather than dominated by big tech companies.
They also seek to make algorithms more transparent – a sharp contrast from the dark, mysterious, ever-evolving monster that knows everything about us. This is mostly the case in centralised platforms, like those used by Meta's Facebook. It is a huge debate in the social media world: Do we want complete freedom with no moderation, or moderation with maybe some censorship?
Some in technology circles and many average users think that completely open-source and unmoderated platforms are a form of tech anarchism and chaos, while others view it as the way things ought to be. However, is any of this actually taking place on any platform right now?
Not really. Although BlueSky uses the AT Protocol, it is currently the only platform utilising it, limiting true decentralisation. According to some media reports, BlueSky has faced challenges with community-driven moderation, leading to biases and failures in addressing harmful content like racism.
Its decentralised model risks spreading misinformation and creating fragmented user experiences. Some data privacy policies on the platform remain largely unclear as well.
What Bluesky promises reflects the dreams of many start-ups and tech-ethical enthusiasts: profit while prioritising people's freedom to leave the platform and take their followers and data with them. As an innovation expert and a cruise journalist chronicling social media's rise and fall, I remain a neutral observer, wielding tools that serve my life, work, and journalism community.
These platforms have always been complex companions – simultaneously helpful and challenging. They connect us while forcing constant adaptation to ever-shifting algorithms that often feel incomprehensible.
Twitter once gave journalists a golden megaphone, blue checkmarks and amplified voices across a digital landscape. We basked in the glow of our 280-character narratives, but the foundations were crumbling beneath our feet.
As we clung to our carefully crafted tweets, the world pivoted towards visual storytelling. Instagram's stories, TikTok's addictive shorts, and YouTube's deep dives became the new linguistic currency of the internet.
For some, Bluesky is a comfort zone for those nostalgic for a text-based space that recalls simpler times when algorithms were less manipulative. However, until we learn more about the very fine details behind how the platform works, I doubt the grass is greener – or “bluer” – over on BlueSky compared to other social platforms. I remain sceptical, yet somewhat optimistic.
Globally, the journalism industry, and many other industries, bent and reshaped to fit narrow algorithmic constraints. Journalists became algorithmic acrobats navigating these digital landscapes with increasing sophistication.
Adaptation became essential for survival and relevance. Now, as journalists and other users rush to Bluesky fuelled by social media nostalgia for simpler times, we must remember that nostalgia makes us vulnerable to forgetting the bad experiences that came with the territory of the good.
They are tools to help us connect and build a future, nothing more. Bluesky represents hope, a potential future where social media prioritises human experience over algorithmic control.
Yet challenges remain as the platform navigates its expanding universe. This is not a call to be scared of social media or to stop using it, this is a call to stay mindful and not to glorify any platform for its promises.
Wafaa Albadry is the newsletter editor at The National
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
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Titan Sports Academy:
Programmes: Judo, wrestling, kick-boxing, muay thai, taekwondo and various summer camps
Location: Inside Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Telephone: 971 50 220 0326
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
Fight card
1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)
9. Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
MATCH INFO
Iceland 0 England 1 (Sterling pen 90 1)
Man of the match Kari Arnason (Iceland)
