Jack Dorsey’s exclusive Bluesky social network angles to compete with Twitter

Elon Musk has outraged social media’s elite by letting anyone get Twitter verification for $8 — and Jack Dorsey is looking to capitalize on the situation.

Bluesky Social, which Twitter co-founder Dorsey founded in 2021, has since amassed just 50,000 monthly users versus Twitter’s nearly 400 million and Instagram’s 2.3 billion.

But unlike Twitter and Instagram, users on Bluesky have to be invited or apply, be vetted, and accepted to the platform.

That barrier has created buzz in recent weeks. 

“There’s a group of people who are crying over losing their blue checks. They want exclusivity and they want everyone to know that they have exclusivity,” one source using Bluesky told On The Money. “We want another form of elitism online.”

Of course, the problem with any exclusive social media platform is that once it begins to scale and grow, it eventually loses its initial appeal.

“Once the exclusivity is gone, people will go back to Twitter,” a source added.

Clubhouse rose to popularity during the pandemic lockdowns as users could join chats with big names like Marc Andreesen and Ashton Kutcher.

But once everyone was allowed to join, the appeal of listening to what was essentially a conference call faded. 

“I don’t see a value or differentiation in it,” another user who is a member but has yet to post on Bluesky said.

“People are so hungry for something to take off they’re using an identical platform that’s the same format with just a different name,” the source added.

Mastodon — another social media platform to surge in popularity in the weeks after Musk bought Twitter — quickly flamed out. 

Bluesky looks nearly identical to Twitter. Instead of a “what’s happening” section, Bluesky has a “what’s hot” section.

Unlike Twitter, there are no hashtags or direct messages. 

The platform has yet to attract many notable users.

Aside from Dorsey, Monica Lewinsky, Jake Tapper and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) are among the most high-profile members.