Bluesky stimule les paiements des créateurs de contenu tandis que les abonnements augmentent après la destruction de Twitter par Elon Musk

Bluesky, the social media platform that has seen tremendous growth in the past year, announced on Thursday that the company has raised a $15 million funding round, according to a post on the Bluesky website. The announcement also includes hints about what’s to come, including the possibility of subscriptions, payments, and other new features in the future.

Blockchain Capital led the new funding round, according to the Bluesky announcement on Thursday, with participation from Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, SevenX, and Amir Shevat from Darkmode. However, Bluesky was quick to clarify in their announcement that they do not really endorse cryptocurrencies and have no plans to accept tokens or NFTs on the platform.

The company stated: « This does not change the fact that the Bluesky app and AT protocol do not use blockchain or cryptocurrency, and we will not fund social experimentation excessively (through tokens, cryptocurrency trading, NFTs, etc.). »

Bluesky has seen a new wave of subscriptions when Elon Musk’s X Twitter site (formerly known as X) began to implement some elements of the experience there. Bluesky added three million users in the past month alone, increasing from 10 million users to 13 million, with much of this growth directly attributed to Musk’s legal tricks in Brazil and the recent announcement that X’s ban function will soon disappear.

What’s new after this latest round of funding? Bluesky recently introduced features such as direct messaging and video, making it closer to competing with the same features already offered by X. But there are some more expansionary ideas on the horizon, including paid subscriptions for features such as uploading high-quality videos and profile customizations.

However, Rose Wang, COO at Bluesky, said that these paid features will not allow anyone to gain special treatment from Bluesky in any way, as is the case with X when someone buys a blue checkbox for $8 per month.

Bluesky is operated by a core team of 20 people, supervisors, and support agents. Our biggest costs are the team and infrastructure. Wang wrote on Thursday: « Subscription revenues help us improve the app and develop the developer ecosystem, and give us time to explore business models beyond traditional advertising. »

The company is also looking to develop a payment system that allows content creators to make money, despite the scarcity of details on how that will work. Musk has been talking about adding an in-app payment system to X since he bought the site in late 2022, but he has not delivered on that promise yet.

The reactions to news related to content creator payments were mixed at Bluesky, with some people very concerned that offering these types of incentives could be a bad idea.

Kyle Orland, Senior Game Editor at Ars Technica, said: « If there’s anything that will ruin Bluesky, it’s the need to make money. »

The rise of Bluesky as an independent social media platform has been a breath of fresh air for many people who have spent years posting on sites like Twitter. Not just because Elon Musk turned the site into a Nazi bar. People grew up online at a certain time seeing social media sites come and go (remember MySpace and Friendster), and assumed sites like Twitter and Facebook would meet the same fate, only to see the cycle start over when new offerings come. But that’s not really how it turned out.

Instead, the last two decades have seen a lot of consolidation (Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014), as well as copycat services from the same monopolies of big tech companies (Facebook, now Meta, launched the Threads app in 2023). Paul Frazee of Bluesky is familiar with the old cycle and knows that the social media platform will not last forever. That’s why Frazee says the company has built its services with portability in mind.

Frazee responded Thursday to a post (sorry, I can’t really name them skits) from someone who loves Bluesky but encouraged content creators to direct their audience to their website or newsletter, « so in five years when Bluesky is bad, that won’t happen » don’t take your whole audience with you!

« For what it’s worth, the Bluesky team agrees. I hope it’s not within 5 years (I want at least 10 good years) but everyone knows the cycle. The company is the future’s enemy. » That’s why we did this, so that other apps can replace us if/when it happens,” Frazee posted.

Frazee linked to a series of explanations on how to make the core system of each user’s website work.

No one knows for sure if Bluesky will be able to continue its rapid growth. But jumping from one million users in September 2023 to over 13 million today is a sign that social media users are at least looking for new alternatives to the monopolies of big tech companies.

Bluesky said in its announcement on Thursday: « With each passing month, the need for an open social network becomes more clear. » « We are very excited about where we are headed – we are not just building another social app, but a full network that gives users freedom and choice. Thank you for joining us. »