Decentralized X competitor Bluesky, a startup that offers a social network where users can choose their own algorithms and moderation services, announced on Monday that it had hired Mike Masnick as its new board member. Masnick, best known as the founder of tech blog Techdirt, is also said to have inspired the Bluesky project through his paper titled “Protocol, Not a Platform.”
The company said in a blog post that the team had already sought Masnick's advice, and that bringing him on to the board was a “natural next step” to formalize the relationship between the two companies.
Bluesky was originally incubated within Twitter under the leadership of founder Jack Dorsey, but has since spun out of Twitter (now rebranded as X under Elon Musk) and pursued its own path as an independent company, including raising a seed round last year and launching the first paid service for setting up custom domains on a decentralized platform.
While Blue Sky had the support of Dorsey in its early days, the former Twitter CEO later publicly criticized the company for making the same mistakes he and other Twitter employees had made, particularly in its handling of early moderation issues.
Dorsey stepped down from Blue Sky's board of directors in May and is now focusing more of his energy on Nostl, another decentralized network popular with bitcoin enthusiasts like himself.
Masnick's addition fills a vacancy on Bluesky's board of directors as the social network, which now has 6 million users, continues to develop its platform, policies and the AT Protocol, the technology that powers its activities.
The company said it will leverage Maznick's expertise as a reporter, editor and publisher, in addition to gaining insight from his knowledge of the policy, technology and legal issues it may face as it grows.
“Mike's work has inspired us from the beginning,” Blue Sky CEO Jay Glover said in a statement. “His joining our board feels like a natural extension of our shared vision for a more open internet. As we continue to evolve Blue Sky and the AT Protocol, his perspective will help ensure we're building something that truly serves our users.”
“I am excited to join Bluesky's board of directors and support the company's vision of building an open social network,” said Masnick. “I've been thrilled to watch the Bluesky team turn these ideas into reality over the past few years, and I look forward to helping the company continue to build a better Internet.”