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Techdirt founder Mike Masnick adds to Bluesky’s board while the social network lifts its invite‑only barrier, signaling a push for a more open, decentralized
Mike Masnick, the founder of Techdirt, announced that he is joining the board of the decentralized social network Bluesky, a move that coincides with the platform’s decision to allow anyone to sign up without an invitation [1]. The board appointment and the open‑registration change both aim to advance Bluesky’s vision of a more open, competitive, and decentralized online world [1][2].
Key takeaways
Mike Masnick, a semi‑regular contributor to Slashdot and the founder of the tech blog Techdirt, said he will “provide advice and guidance to the company to help it achieve its vision of a more open, more competitive, more decentralized online world” [1]. In his own words, after nearly three decades of writing about internet policy, he sees an opportunity to help turn a better vision of the web into reality, prompting his decision to join the board [1]. The announcement was posted on August 6, 2024, and highlights Masnick’s ongoing commitment to both his commentary on internet issues and active participation in shaping emerging platforms [1].
Earlier in the year, Bluesky announced that it would no longer require an invitation to join, allowing anyone to create an account as of February 6, 2024 [2]. The change was presented as part of a series of upcoming features and reflects the platform’s broader strategy to grow its user base beyond the early adopters who had been invited during its initial rollout [2]. Bluesky’s origins trace back to a seed investment by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who was inspired by Masnick’s “Protocols, Not Platforms” paper; the project was built as an independent company with an early contract with Twitter, but it has since pursued its own path [2].
Masnick’s board involvement and Bluesky’s open‑registration policy both signal a concerted effort to push the platform toward a more decentralized internet ecosystem. By bringing a well‑known internet policy commentator onto its board, Bluesky gains a voice that can articulate and defend its vision in public discourse. Simultaneously, removing the invitation barrier lowers the entry threshold for users, potentially accelerating adoption and testing of the decentralized protocol in real‑world conditions. The next steps will likely involve monitoring how the expanded user base interacts with Bluesky’s technology and whether Masnick’s guidance influences the platform’s governance and competitive positioning.
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Group chats are currently limited to 50 participants and do not yet support media sharing due to ongoing development of safety and moderation systems.
Communities will be smaller, interest-based spaces within the platform that feature their own handles, which serve as URLs, and can be set to public, invite-only, or private.
The shift is a strategic response to growth challenges, aiming to offer a different value proposition by providing user-owned spaces where moderation is handled by the community rather than the platform.