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Bluesky now allows heads of state to join the platform
A post from the official Bluesky account on Friday notified users that it's lifted its ban on heads of state. The policy has been in place for the last year. Bluesky recently opened itself up to public signups after previously requiring invite codes.
Bluesky will let users run their own moderation services
Bluesky, the open-source Twitter alternative, is about to start testing out one of its more ambitious ideas: allowing its users to run their own moderation services.
Bluesky is ditching its waitlist and is now open to everyone
Bluesky, the open-source Twitter alternative, is getting rid of its waitlist and opening its decentralized platform to everyone.
Bluesky changed its logo and now lets everyone view posts, even without an account
Bluesky announced this week that you can now view posts on from the social network without logging in. It's also overhauled its logo, replacing the cloudy blue sky with a simple blue butterfly.
Bluesky hits 2 million users and will soon release a public web interface
Bluesky has just crossed 2 million users a year after the service's first ever post was created.
Twitter spinoff Bluesky hits 1 million users
Bluesky, one of the most notable alternatives to the platform formerly known as Twitter, has just hit a million users.
Is decentralization the future of social media?
Meta’s adoption of ActivityPub could expose a lot more people to the power, and perils, of decentralized social networks.
Bluesky allowed people to include the n-word in their usernames
Before this week, Bluesky did not have an automated system in place to prevent people from including the n-word in their handle.
Bluesky begins offering custom domains in its bid to remain ad-free
The Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized social network Bluesky has launched a paid domain service in partnership with Namecheap as a way for users to verify their identity.
Bluesky now lets you choose your own algorithm
Bluesky released its “custom feeds” feature, which allows people to subscribe to a range of different algorithms and make their own for others to follow.
You can now use Flipboard to browse Bluesky
Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized Twitter alternative, isn’t even out of beta yet but it’s already drawing the attention of more mainstream platforms.
Jack Dorsey-backed Bluesky is having a moment
Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized social network, isn’t publicly available yet but it’s already become one of the buzziest Twitter alternatives.
Jack Dorsey's Twitter-like Bluesky app arrives on Android
Bluesky, Jack Dorsey's alternative to Twitter, is now available by invitation only on Android devices after arriving on the App Store in February
Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky is building a ‘marketplace of algorithms’
Bluesky intends to create a “marketplace of algorithms” that will allow users to control how content is filtered and sorted.
Twitter will fund development of an open social media standard
Twitter is funding a team to develop an open and decentralized standard for social media. CEO Jack Dorsey announced the effort, called Bluesky, today. In a series of tweets, Dorsey said Twitter will fund a "small independent team" of up to five open source architects, engineers and designers, and that the platform will provide just one direction: find an existing decentralized standard to advance or create one from scratch.
The NIO EP9 is the 'world's fastest' all-electric supercar
NextEV, despite its name, hasn't built your next automobile. At least not yet. Instead, it's created a (somewhat) eco-friendly monster capable of beating the Nürburgring in a staggering 7 minutes and 5 seconds. That, the company claims, is quicker than the previous EV lap record, making it "the fastest electric car in the world." Big talk, wouldn't you agree? It's called the EP9 and is the first car to be launched under NextEV's new "NIO" brand. The company says further vehicles and products will follow, making NIO more of a lifestyle brand than a straightforward car manufacturer.
Blue Sky for iOS lets you visualize clearer air
Blue Sky is a free iOS app coming out of China, where skies are often gray and air pollution is often out of control. Of course, China isn't alone with that problem. Blue Sky is sponsored by the World Wildlife Federation and an advertising agency, Ogilvy and Mather, based in New York and Shanghai. Since it's Earth Day, I thought it might be appropriate to point out this little app. It's simple in concept and execution -- you take a photo or select one from your camera roll. With your finger, paint in a bluer sky on the photo you've loaded. It's easier if you have a pretty flat horizon. The app doesn't let you magnify your photo to work in tight places, and there is one and only one brush size. The app simply serves as an environmental reminder to let you visualize cleaner and clearer skies. The app also lets you add your signature to a petition to state your preference about 'bringing back the blue'. Although the app was designed for a Chinese audience, it works just fine everywhere else. Doug Schiff, Executive Creative Director of OgilvyOne China, said, "Many in China feel only the government can improve the worsening air conditions, but WWF wanted to encourage individuals to think up and support individual initiatives, and this app is a step in that direction." Blue Sky isn't a sophisticated photo editor by any means. But it packs a little message, and you can certainly do some simple editing to improve your images of cloudy or polluted skies. The app is not universal, and requires iOS 6.1 or later. It is optimized for the iPhone 5.
Bringing wireless to the disconnected: internet tales from the South Pacific
"We only have dial-up here. You'd be shocked at the speeds. [Laughs.] But it's okay -- as long as I can send and reply to email, I'm fine with it."Those were the words spoken to me just weeks ago by the absolutely precious owner of Litia Sini Beach Resort on the extreme southeastern tip of Upolu. For those unaware, that's Samoa's most populous island (~135,000 people) -- a sliver of lush, mountainous land dropped almost perfectly in the center of the Pacific Ocean. I chuckled a bit upon hearing it, immediately realizing that I had a connection in the palm of my hand that was 20, 30, perhaps even 40 times quicker than what this business owner was relying on. She paused, as if to collect her thoughts before going into a familiar spiel about the resort's amenities, and then drew my attention to the display of her laptop. "It's still a draft for now, but this is the new tsunami evacuation plan that we're working on. Soon, we'll have this in each fale. It's taking a bit of time to get right, as the drawings are actually done in New Zealand."I nodded my head in understanding, immediately thinking that this must be in reaction to the catastrophic tsunami of September 2009, caused by a magnitude 8.1 submarine earthquake that hit barely 100 miles from the very spot I was sitting. It was the largest quake of 2009. The entire resort was leveled. Dozens upon dozens were killed. And here we were, over two full years later, and the evacuation schematics are still in "draft."
Distro Issue 31: Tales from the South Pacific, Apple's new iPad and the Woz
Let's just call Issue 31 the New Issue, shall we? That's what Apple did this week with the refresh of the iPad, and in this week's refresh of Distro, we'll bring you our first-hand impressions of Cupertino's latest slate. Also in this issue, Darren Murph takes a look at the challenges of bringing wireless to the disconnected, in "Internet Tales from the South Pacific," and Steve Wozniak tackles the Distro Q&A like only he can. We'll also bring you our reviews of Lytro's debut light field camera and Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook. So go on and download the new issue.Distro Issue 31 PDFDistro on the iTunes App StoreDistro in the Android MarketDistro APK (for sideloading)Like Distro on FacebookFollow Distro on Twitter
