Bluesky is a relatively new social network, stylistically similar to Twitter but without all the bleakness and misinformation. It is, so far, the least problematic and least evil social media site I’ve seen: the librarian community, and academic / research community, and many other communities, are now rebuilding on the site. If you’d like to know more about how to make the most of Bluesky, read on.
This page is divided into a few sections, ranging from introductory to more complex. Almost all of the guidance it contains can be equally applied to organisational accounts, and individual accounts. Before we go into a bit more depth, here’s quick-start guide, and links to the six most recent posts on my blog that are Bluesky related.
Bluesky Quick-Start Guide
Posts about Bluesky
1) Fill in your profile before you do anything else, so people know who you are and that you’re not a bot!
2) Write an introductory post or two, saying hello and perhaps talking about what you’re on Bluesky to chat about
3) THEN start following people, so when they get that notification and click on your profile, they’re greeted by your bio, your first couple of posts, and have a reason to follow you back.
4) Be proactive in following people - look out for useful Starter Packs, Lists and Feeds (more on all of which below) to find accounts of interest. By default Bluesky will only show you posts from the people you follow - there’s no centralised algorithm to endlessly fill your feed with uninvited content, which is wonderful but takes some getting used to - so unless you find people there’ll be nothing in your feed
5) Like posts, reply, join conversations - Bluesky works best when you really engage. Give it time, and have fun!
If you would like training on using Bluesky for your organisation or brand, I run online workshops in this area: a 1-hour basic introduction, a 2-hour in-depth session, and a half-day full strategic course. Get in touch if you’d like to book one.