Are the Cool Kids from X (Twitter) flocking to Blue Sky? Yes, but the answer’s complicated.
By SUSAN STITT
As the marketing director for Front Edge Publishing, it’s my responsibility to keep current on social media platforms so that we can continue to promote the books that we publish in the most appropriate ways.
Recently, I added another platform, Bluesky, to our Front Edge channel list. Admittedly, my first thought was “Which platform can we walk away from?” The seemingly obvious choice was X formerly known as Twitter. X is owned by Elon Musk, who started the year as a member of the Trump administration, and was in the news daily for leading the charge of budget cutting and government program terminations. I thought that would be the call to make since I was getting following notifications on Bluesky everyday from our authors and many of the news organizations that I regularly reach out to with news about our new books.
According to a new report on the role of social media “influencers” from Pew Research, Bluesky has grown from about 10 million users to 30 million users since the November election. It seemed that “our” people were moving en masse to Bluesky as well.
What those notifications did not say, and what Pew Research has confirmed in this new article, “Bluesky has caught on with many news influencers, but X remains popular“ is that while some folks are joining Bluesky, they have not left X. According to Pew, “The share of news influencers in our sample with a Bluesky account roughly doubled in the four months after Election Day 2024, from 21% beforehand to 43% by March 2025. Most of these influencers—including left-leaning ones—are also on X and post there frequently.”
Perhaps you’ve never heard of Bluesky?
This new social media platform debuted to the public in February 2024. Bluesky was started by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. I asked ChatGPT for an easy explanation of Bluesky—after trudging through the long description provided on the Bluesky website FAQ. Here’s the simpler, AI version:
Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform designed to give users more control over their online experience by separating the network from the platform itself. Originally incubated by Twitter and now operating independently, Bluesky uses the AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol) to allow for open-source development, algorithmic choice, and data portability. This means users can choose how content is moderated and which algorithms shape their feeds—creating a more customizable and transparent social media environment. It functions similarly to Twitter in terms of posting short messages, but with a strong emphasis on decentralization and user empowerment.
Even with Bluesky’s growth, X remains popular among the influencers that Pew identified for study. “As of early 2025, 82% have an account there (Bluesky), about the same share as summer 2024.”
So no, the cool kids have not all abandoned X. Many have journeyed over to Bluesky, but they still have a residence over at X and they are actively participating on both channels.
What it all comes down to as a book marketer or as an author whose book needs promotion is “Where are your readers?” This is the question you need to ask about each platform that you are spending your time, energy and perhaps advertising budget on. Take a look at the demographics for each channel and choose wisely where you spend your social media time, energy and resources.
Please, meet us over at Bluesky!
We welcome fresh connections at Bluesky, if you’re part of the flock heading there from X. One nice thing about Bluesky is that there’s a bit less traffic than at X, so it’s sometimes easier to connect and share ideas there.
I’m at https://bsky.app/profile/susanstitt.bsky.social
Front Edge Publishing is at https://bsky.app/profile/frontedgepub.bsky.social
And our Editor David Crumm is at https://bsky.app/profile/davidcrumm.bsky.social