As the owner of perhaps the most influential academic social media tool – yes, I am talking about that guy and Twitter/X – is finally scaring away academics and most sane people off his $44bn platform, many of them are wondering where to go from there. Don’t worry, we have you covered, with an obvious focus on today’s darling social media, BlueSky.
In the past, we published an article focusing on Mastodon, a fully decentralised and open-source infrastructure for microblogging that is part of the Fediverse, but sadly, its limitations and the confusion it caused some users never allowed it to take Twitter/X’s place. Facebook/Meta also attempted to take the opportunity to start Threads, a microblogging system connected both to Instagram and (loosely) to the Fediverse, but again, while it did get some success with influencers, it had less with professionals, journalists and researchers, who stuck with Twitter/X or gave more importance to LinkedIn.
Instead, users of the birdsite are flocking to BlueSky, perhaps a more natural successor : after all, it evolved from a project first started under Twitter’s wing and the gaze of then-CEO Jack Dorsey. While it hasn’t fully delivered on its promise of decentralisation, its creative approach to moderation and recommendations as well as a commitment to giving control on their timelines to users are clear benefits compared to what Twitter/X has now become.
The Library has been using BlueSky for the past two years, and as Academics are now migrating, here are a few tips if you are considering making such a change yourself:
- Create an account and fill in your profile. Who are you, what do you do, and what are you interested in?
- Obviously, follow the Library (and perhaps the Institute soon) for blog posts and information.
- Use Sky Follower Bridge to try to find your Twitter/X contacts on BlueSky.
- Also check out our Geneva Graduate Institute starter pack for people currently working or PhD’ing there.
- Use other “starter packs” on your subject interest, such as
- History of colonialism and imperialism
- International law
- Discourse in international relations
- VoxDev development economics
- IR journals on Bluesky
- The Library will be re-skeeting some of them which we think could be of interest to you.
- Search for people you know and check who they follow for more recommendations – but that may be time consuming.
- You can add various feeds in tabs. Explore by subscribing to feeds, lists, and creating your own community.
- Read this article from the LSE Impact Blog for more recommendations
Enjoy!
Illustration: Fly away home, CC BY Joanne Clifford
Geneva Graduate Institute Library Blog 
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