Right here’s some cool stuff you are able to do with Bluesky

So, you’ve lastly determined to present Bluesky a shot. The social community has come a great distance because the early bare-bones days of invite-only signups and just lately grew previous the 15 million consumer mark. Alongside the best way, it’s gathered a number of acquainted posting platform options, like direct messages, pinned posts, and the power to publish movies as much as 60 seconds in size.

However there’s much more to it than that, and I’m not solely speaking about lore. (Sure, Bluesky has lore, and that’s most likely probably the most traditional Twitter factor about it.) It’s additionally received quite a few options and settings you gained’t discover on X or Threads, like the power to decide on your individual algorithm or moderation instruments. These serve not simply as a quick lane to getting the platform to really feel vigorous however also can create the sensation that you simply, the consumer, are in charge of your expertise.

Right here’s a primer on getting on top of things on Bluesky.

Bluesky’s Following feed is an easy chronological feed of posts from individuals you observe. However you can too customise whether or not it reveals replies, reposts, quote posts, and / or samples out of your customized feeds — setting all of those to “off” means your Following feed will solely show posts from individuals you observe. You’ll discover these choices in Settings > Following Feed Preferences.

The platform additionally permits you to resolve the way you’d prefer to see reply threads by going to Settings > Thread Preferences. Right here, you possibly can type by oldest, latest, most-liked replies, or have them randomly sorted. (Bluesky additionally calls this “Poster’s Roulette.”) There’s an choice to prioritize individuals you observe in a reply thread in addition to an experimental Threaded Mode possibility for displaying replies as Reddit-like nested threads.

Whereas Bluesky presents two algorithmic feeds to start out — “Uncover” and “Common With Associates” — issues begin to get much more enjoyable once you get into customized feeds. Bluesky itself has made some, however many of the customized feeds are user-created.

These feeds are highly effective, making it simple to seek out individuals who share your pursuits, see solely sure forms of content material, or type via your individual posts. Need a feed of cat photos? You bought it. All for seeing which of your posts has performed the very best? You’ll need the “My Bangers” feed.

To take a look at the customized feeds:

Faucet the three traces icon within the higher left to summon the sidebar.Within the sidebar, choose Feeds.Seek for a feed or scroll via them to choose those you want.Click on or faucet on particular person feeds to preview them.To observe a feed from the Feeds web page, click on on the person feed, choose the three dots within the higher nook, after which choose Save to my feeds. It should now seem on the prime of your Feeds listing.To observe a feed from Bluesky’s homescreen, faucet Pin to Dwelling on the prime. Now, it’ll seem as a tab on the prime of that display.

One other simple solution to discover Bluesky accounts to observe is Starter Packs. These are prepackaged lists of accounts, typically chosen round a theme. Bluesky’s workforce has made a few of these, however there are additionally hundreds of user-made lists containing accounts that always publish about particular subjects or are a part of sure teams. (The Verge even has one; you’ll find it proper right here.)

Bluesky hasn’t made Starter Packs searchable but, so the one manner you’ll discover them is by looking out exterior of the platform (I like this listing), recognizing them after they’re posted by different customers, or having them despatched to you. When you discover a Starter Pack you want, simply click on the Observe all button on the prime of the display to, you already know, observe all of them, or choose the Observe button by particular person accounts in case you’re feeling picky.

And if you wish to create your individual Starter Pack, it isn’t troublesome: Bluesky has instructions proper right here.

Like Mastodon, Bluesky is a federated platform, besides it makes use of AT Protocol as an alternative of ActivityPub. As such, you possibly can choose your individual area title suffix on your deal with. You’ll must both personal that area or get it from one other service, comparable to Threads. A phrase of warning, although: when you’ve performed this, your deal with / area title combo is now free for another person to take. (Bluesky says that “any tags or mentions along with your outdated deal with will nonetheless level to your account,” although.)

To modify to a customized area:

Choose Settings > Change Deal with.Select I’ve my very own area.Enter your area, and choose Copy Area Worth, which copies the string of textual content on the finish of the file.Navigate to your area registrar (the corporate you obtain the area from) and discover an possibility labeled Handle DNS or related.

Add a TXT file and enter the file info you gathered from Bluesky. Notice: this course of differs between area title suppliers, so it’s possible you’ll must search for directions, comparable to those I’ve linked right here for well-liked registrars GoDaddy and Squarespace.When you’ve saved the file, wait a couple of minutes, return to Bluesky, and choose Confirm DNS File. A inexperienced banner within the Change Deal with field will seem to let you already know you succeeded.

Like X and Threads, you possibly can pin posts to the highest of your account. Right here’s how:

Navigate to the publish you wish to pin.Choose the three dots beneath the publish.Choose Pin to your profile.

Bluesky’s moderation is buttressed by Labelers, that are third-party companies that may tag accounts or content material, both for informational functions or for moderation. The tags are wide-ranging and can be utilized to cover issues like posts with GIFs, crypto scammer accounts, model accounts, or phobia triggers.

It goes far past that, although. Some use it as a handy solution to show or view pronouns, discover followers of their favourite sports activities groups, and even play text-based video games via Labelers like this TTRPG one. Every one differs in its use and normally presents directions for utilizing it. Additionally, Bluesky doesn’t at present have a built-in solution to discover Labelers, however there are lists and instruments for that.

To make use of a Labeler when you’ve discovered one you want:

Navigate to its Bluesky web page.Choose Subscribe to Labeler.

If it has a listing of labels to customise, choose an possibility for every:Off: to maintain the label off. Present badge: to see the label when utilized to content material or accounts.Disguise: to cover content material or accounts with that label.

In case you resolve you wish to change these choices later, you are able to do so by going to Settings > Moderation and deciding on the Labeler from the Superior part.

Bluesky permits you to create passwords for different apps to make use of. That is useful in case you like to make use of apps — like third-party shopper Graysky — that make the most of the Bluesky API however don’t wish to give them your everlasting password. Right here’s how you are able to do that.

Navigate to Settings > App Passwords (Underneath Superior).Choose Add App Password.Enter a reputation for the password or use the one Bluesky generates. If you wish to let the app use direct messaging, tick the Enable entry to your direct messages field. Notice: you possibly can’t change this selection later; you possibly can solely delete the password and create a brand new one for that app.Choose Create App Password.