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The update allows users to explore trending videos and pin clips to their own feeds.
Social media platform Bluesky announced on Sunday (19 January) that it has launched customisable video features. The latest update has added a trending videos section in the Explore tab and Bluesky members can vertically swipe through videos, discover popular clips and add or pin videos to their feeds.
In a post, written on the platform’s own website, Bluesky said: “We had to get in on the video action, too – Bluesky now has custom feeds for video. Like any other feed, you can choose to pin these or not. Bluesky is yours to customise.”
Bluesky acknowledged the potential for a TikTok alternative, built using Bluesky protocol, noting platforms currently in testing mode, such as Tik.Blue, Skylight.Social and Bluescreen.Blue. The US ban targeting TikTok went into effect on Sunday (19 January), however, after less than a day, it was announced that the app would be reintroducing its services.
With more than 27m users, Bluesky is growing at a rapid pace and is consistently adding to its repertoire of features. In late December, the platform introduced new engagement and language features, making it far easier for people to keep track of conversations in which they are mentioned. The app also added three new languages: Nepali, Khmer and Romanian.
Additionally, in light of recent events, for example Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to remove third-party fact checking from Meta’s platforms, a new fundraiser has been established by an organisation called Free Our Feeds.
The group aims to protect Bluesky’s technology from being monopolised or manipulated by a single billionaire or company. Its ranks include actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, president of the Mozilla Foundation Mark Surman and Harvard Business School professor and author Shoshana Zuboff.
Last month, SiliconRepublic.com spoke with a former Twitter director, Edward Perez, who now calls himself a Bluesky advocate, about efforts to improve user verification and account authentication on the burgeoning platform.
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