Changing Up The Socials: BlueSky and Threads

In case you’ve been living under a rock, there’s been a bit of a sea change in the world of social media platforms recently. Now, at first, you may think, what has this to do with photography? Well, as many artists and photographers use social media to promote their content, I wanted to take a quick look at the changing order of things, and keep you up to date on where I’m posting.

Where I currently post, and what I’m changing

Until recently, I posted across a few different platforms that I’ve been using for the last little while. I regularly posted on X (Twitter), to my Facebook Group and Page, and To Instagram. Going forward, I’m closing my Facebook Group and just going to post to the Facebook page. I’ll probably post on X less, and I’ll be more regularly posting on Threads and BlueSky.

The reason I’m closing my Facebook group is that I don’t really see the point in having a group and a page anymore. I had started the group because I read that Facebook was promoting groups more at the time, and so that’s why I set one up. For a while, it was working well, but I haven’t been keeping up with it enough, and now it’s kind of pointless, so I’m closing it down and sticking to the page.

When it comes to X / Twitter, oh boy. Ok, here we go….

Posting less on X (Twitter)?

Before I comment on this, I want to clarify, I’m keeping this apolitical (as in not about politics). I know X has become a loaded topic because, but I’m not going to comment on the politics, and it’s not the reason I’m going to post less here.

Actually, the main reason is that there is almost no engagement on X anymore. I recently posted the same post on X and Threads, and on X, I got around 80 views, whereas on threads, where I have a tenth of the followers, I got over a thousand views, numerous likes and comments. Posting on X now feels like screaming into a void. It’s just pointless. The algorithm only seems to care about argumentative or conflict inducing, loaded content, and everything else is ignored or actively suppressed. On top of that, links are actively throttled, so if you are trying to direct people to your website or other content it’s increasingly difficult. You see people going o ridiculous lengths to get around this too, like posting images with the web address on it, or posting a link as a comment rather than in the main post. It’s stupid, unnecessary and frankly, and I’ve had enough. I’ll still post there now and then, and I’m not deleting my account or anything, but I’ll just be posting less on X.

Threads

When Threads first started I was a bit skeptical, but it’s grown on me. It’s relatively innocuous, and maybe because it’s linked to instagram, but I see loads of artists and photographers there posting their work. Way more so than on the other platforms. I also have far better interactions for the most part with people on Threads (as opposed to none at all on X) and my relatively mundane posts often get decent views and interactions. There is also a strong presence on there from most of the main accounts I follow, whether that be industry pundits, news sources, or celebrities (yes, even I indulge in occasional celebrity following - although mostly directors and cinematographers rather than actors and musicians).

Compared to BlueSky (see below) I think threads is a better place for artists and photographers, although I’m sure some people will disagree with me on that. That may well change over time, but for now, that’s been my experience. However, it’s not perfect. There are many features lacking, including lists, which, I think, are essential. Also, there are no DMs yet, and for that, you have to go to Instagram.

You can follow me on threads here should you choose.

BlueSky

BlueSky is having a moment right now, that’s for sure. I had tried it a while ago, back when it was in the beta period, but didn’t like it. There weren’t many people on there back then, and so a lot of the content was a bit too fringe for my liking. But that’s really changed. I went back to the platform a few weeks ago, and now it’s much improved.

So how does it compare to threads?

On the one hand, there are more features on BlueSky than on threads. You have lists, and DMs and a really cool feature called starter packs. However, the whole place feels a bit “beta” still. However, it only has a relatively tiny team of 20 people, so what they’ve been able to do, especially under the enormous influx of people in the past few weeks, is really impressive.

Oh, and they don’t suppress linked posts, at all.

For now, if you’re looking for a platform for discussions, news and politics, this is probably the place to go, although it might take time to get the hang of it and find your way around. But I do think it is the platform of the future, if they can keep growing it responsibly. The big thing it has going for it now is momentum.

I’m not even going to get into the entire thing about being able to control the algorithm and the nature of the protocol, as I don’t really understand these things well enough to talk about them. It’s an interesting departure from the locked down, closed nature of the other two platforms.

For now, however, I've found fewer photographers and artists on there than Threads, but I suppose it's more a matter of time. That’s why I’m posting on both. For now.

If you want to follow me on BlueSky, you can find me here. Feel free to share your profile links in the comments below if you’re a photographer on BlueSky.

Conclusion

If I were to boil the current state down to one paragraph, I’d put it like this: Threads is for Artists and Celebrities. BlueSky is for News, Politics, and Discussions. X is … well, who knows anymore.

Oh, and Instagram is still Instagram

In some ways, the whole social media thing has become way too politically loaded, especially if you are apolitical and want to keep out of all that. Unfortunately, it’s a big part of the media landscape now, and if you want to promote your work and business, it’s a necessary evil. I know I haven’t touched on other platforms like LinkedIn and TikTok because I’m not really present on these, and I’m probably too old for TikTok at this point! There’s also Substack which is actually kind of promising, and I’m looking into that going forward too. But for now, these are my thoughts and opinions.

Cover Image via iStock