As TikTok’s U.S. operations hang in the balance, some platforms are chasing the app’s ad dollars while others court its creators. Meanwhile, X and Bluesky have their sights set on TikTok’s design. The social platform led by Elon Musk and its decentralized successor have both rolled out copycat versions of the For You Page — and Bluesky’s take on the layout proposes a different type of TikTok successor.
X’s work on its vertical video feed began when it was still known as Twitter. Though Musk’s takeover of the app has come with many changes, the world’s richest person has advanced the platform’s TikTok clone. An “immersive new home for videos,” according to an official post with Musk-ian formatting, arrived in the United States on January 19.
At this point, TikTok-style video feeds are a dime a dozen, so X’s announcement doesn’t move the needle too much (even if it gives Musk an easy way to integrate more vertical videos into X should he become the partial owner of a divested TikTok.) Bluesky’s reveal, on the other hand, potentially addresses one of the main causes of TikTok-related skepticism.
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On January 19, the day the TikTok ban briefly went into effect in the United States, Bluesky added a trending videos tab in its mobile app. “We had to get in on the video action too — Bluesky now has custom feeds for video,” reads a post on the decentralized hub. “Like any other feed, you can choose to pin these or not. Bluesky is yours to customize.”
Bluesky’s appeals to user choice make it immune to regulatory efforts that target addictive algorithms. TikTok’s recommendations got it sanctioned in Europe, where the E.U. ordered it to debut a depersonalized feed. That’s the experience Bluesky has offered from the jump, and entrepreneurs like Mark Cuban have suggested that vertical video communities can benefit by moving to a network powered by a decentralized protocol.
Instead of waiting for Cuban to find his startup, Bluesky has debuted that feed itself. If X’s take on TikTok isn’t to your liking, you might prefer the algorithm-light alternative.
