I’ve been on Bluesky for 6+ months — here’s what you need to know

Hey folks👋🏽

How often do you think about the Roman Empire?

I was going to make this question the poll for this week, but that’s not very Serious^TM of me, so you get something else (lucky).

This trend is super hilarious (to me) — it’s also got me thinking about what I think about almost constantly. My obsessions at the moment seem to be the creator economy (because of work), those web-based games from the early 2000s like MyScene and Neopets, and albums with religious undertones like Hozier’s Unreal Unearth and Ethel Cain’s Preacher’s Daughter.

Too niche? Probably — that’s the fun of it! Come share your super niche thoughts with me (I’m @tamioladipo on most platforms). 

 Hope you enjoy reading Mat’s column! 

💌 In today’s email:

• ☁️ I’ve been using Bluesky for over 6 months, and this week, I shared some of my and others’ observations about the platform.
• 👀 We're curious – tell us, if Twitter (X) goes behind a paywall, will you continue to use it?
• 🤖 Use this AI Assistant prompt to generate specific ideas in Buffer's AI Assistant
• 📱Mitra recommends a fun, trending audio
• 📣 The latest social news, features, and bonus reads
• And as always, all the latest and greatest content from the Buffer blog.

Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next Friday!

Warmly, 

Tami & the Buffer team

P.S. Join the Buffer community in Discord!

☑️ The poll of the week

Last week, 82% of you said you use Buffer🎉. Thanks for letting us know, and look out for the archive!

We’re testing the new sections and would love your feedback on the experience here!

🏊‍♀️Deep dive: I’ve been on Bluesky for 6+ months — here’s what you need to know

Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform that has gained significant traction, hitting 1 million users in September 2023. For creators and small business owners, this platform offers a unique blend of user autonomy and open-source transparency, allowing you to have more control over your content and how it's moderated.

Unlike mainstream platforms, the promise of Bluesky's decentralized nature is that it’ll operate independently of larger corporations. This means you're not just a cog in yet another big social media machine; you have the potential to shape the platform's future and, by extension, your digital presence.

What it is

Bluesky is a decentralized, invite-only social network created by Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter. It’s built on an open-source protocol known as the AT Protocol, Bluesky provides transparency into its operations.

• User control: Allows users to dictate their feed and how content is moderated.
• Custom domains: Offers the feature of turning a domain name into your username, enhancing personal branding.
• Data portability: Enables users to export their data, offering greater flexibility and control easily.
• Community-driven: The platform encourages user participation in its development and governance, making it a truly community-driven network.

The good

Bluesky has several features that make it appealing.

• User autonomy: Provides control over timelines and content moderation.
• Open-source nature: Promotes transparency and community involvement.
• Account portability: Allows you to move your accounts to another social media site without losing data or followers.

The bad 

However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

• Monetization uncertainty: The platform's money-making plans are unclear, raising questions about its long-term sustainability.
• Limited decentralization: Currently, Bluesky Social is the only site using the AT Protocol, limiting the benefits of decentralization.
• Content moderation challenges: The flexibility in content moderation can lead to inconsistent user experiences.

The ugly

And there are some serious concerns.

• Community-driven moderation issues: Heavy reliance on automated and community-driven content moderation can lead to biases and inconsistencies.
• Inconsistent communication: The team's inconsistent communication has led to distrust among users.
• Potential for misinformation: The decentralized nature and user-driven content moderation can create an environment where misinformation spreads unchecked.

 🚀 Three entrepreneurs skyrocketing their growth with Buffer

We pride ourselves on being an excellent tool for entrepreneurs and business owners to grow on social media — and our users were more than happy to back us up.

• Michael Piperno on LinkedIn: “What used to take me hours now takes me minutes. Easily 2 hours saved per week.”
• Nathalie Tran on Instagram: “My engagement has increased around 999% on Pinterest!”
• Jennifer’s Fading Memories podcast: “I’ve made over $8,000 in podcast sponsorship since using Buffer”
• Adriana on LinkedIn: “Buffer has been the player in my following growth on my personal LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, over 5,300 followers. I cannot imagine life without Buffer.”

Want to skyrocket your growth? Click the link below to get started with Buffer today!

👇🏽 The latest from the blog

• What Does Shadowbanned Mean? (+ How To Avoid It) — Everything you need to know about shadowbans on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.

• 11 YouTube Shorts Creators to Inspire Your Next Viral Video: A curated list of YouTube Shorts creators worth watching — both at the top of their game and on the rise — and how their content helps them stand out.

• The Social Media Manager’s Daily, Weekly, Monthly Checklist: Buffer’s social media manager shares all the tasks she has on her daily, weekly, and monthly checklists.

• Open Books: The Therapist Turned Coach Who’s Projecting $300,000 This Year: Meet Megan Halek in Open Books, Buffer's series of small business owners giving us a peek inside their books.

🤖 A prompt for generating hyper-specific ideas in Buffer's AI Assistant

This prompt will make sure that every piece of content you create is laser-focused and highly relevant. The specificity increases the chances of your content resonating with your audience and provides a clear roadmap for what you should be writing about.

It also allows you to create a strategic path to maximizing your content output while ensuring that each piece serves a distinct purpose in educating your audience and solving their problems.

The Prompt

Generate a list of increasingly specific topic ideas based on the following:

• Goal: [Your specific goal here, e.g., "Increase email sign-ups", "Boost engagement on LinkedIn posts", "Educate audience about AI prompting"]
• Target Audience: [Your target audience here, e.g., "freelance content creators", "SaaS companies", "remote workers"]
• Platform: [Where you plan to share this content, e.g., "Blog", "LinkedIn", "Twitter"]
• Tone: [Desired tone of the content, e.g., "Conversational", "Formal", "Inspirational"]
• Problem: [The specific problem your target audience is facing, e.g., "struggling to raise money"]
• Reason for Problem: [Why the problem occurs, e.g., "no scalable way to reach investors"]
• Solution: [Your solution to the problem, e.g., "Thought Leadership articles"]
• Ultimate Outcome: [The ultimate outcome of solving the problem, e.g., "easier to raise next round of funding"]

Start with broad topics and then narrow down to more specific ones. Provide at least 5 topic ideas in descending order of specificity, each addressing the elements from 1-8.

We’re testing this new section and would love your feedback on the experience here!

📱Social tip of the week from Mitra, Buffer’s Social Media Manager 

“Thank you, Barbie” 💖

This is a really fun trend on TikTok right now! You can use this audio to share something that may be difficult about your work and how people recognizing that can make you feel appreciated. Simply lip-sync to the audio and add some text to share your story. There are 3 sections for this one:

1. “Shredding waves is much more dangerous than people realize.” — Add text that says something like: “_____ is a lot harder than it looks”
2. “You’re very brave, Ken.” — Add text like: “You’re right! What you do is very impressive.”
3. “Thank you, Barbie.” — Add a simple: “Thank you.”

Here’s how I used this trend on Buffer’s account to share how working in social media isn’t as easy as everyone thinks!

Here’s the audio.

📣 What's happening in social?

Instagram has rolled out its Reels Gift feature, another way to monetize content, to more regions; Threads users will be able to delete their profiles, and content by the end of 2023, without deleting their Instagram account too; A TikTok Billboard Top 50 Chart is in the works; and Elon Musk has hinted that X (Twitter) may soon charge all its users to access the platform.

📚 The Big Read: Why Are Men So Obsessed With The Roman Empire? A Rome Expert Explains

Get these updates and more in our new Notion page!

Thanks for reading! 💟

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