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Periodically, I see people upset that #Bluesky has become the default alternative to #Twitter instead of #Mastodon. So we need to understand why that happened:

1. Bluesky simply has a better UI/UX for Twitter users than Mastodon because it basically is Twitter whereas Mastodon is its own thing
2. When the Twitter migration happened in November 2022, those who managed to get a Mastodon account found that navigating Mastodon’s unwritten social norms was difficult
3. Mastodon already had a pre-existing community, one that clashed with mainstream Twitter – whereas there was no community on Bluesky when Twitter users migrated there
4. Certain marginalized groups, such as Black folk, found a hostile environment here, and many who have stayed remain here because they believe in the tech despite the community that exists around it

I cannot understate the role that social discovery had in this. On Bluesky it is easy to find people and topics that are relevant to users whereas on Mastodon this takes a lot of heavy lifting.

That said, there’s a silver lining to this. Should Bluesky fail to decentralize and the company alienates their userbase – which is inevitable – where will Bluesky users go?

Obviously, to Mastodon.

But when that happens, we need to prepare ourselves for the eventual migration and build a better environment for Bluesky users to come here.