I Tried Bluesky So You Don’t Have To (Here’s What I Learned as a PR Student)
By Bailey Heryford ( This blog post is also found on #SOJCssm – Strategic Social Media at the SOJC )
When Bluesky first started popping up online, I’ll be honest I wasn’t in a rush to make an account. It felt like there were already so many platforms to keep up with, and I didn’t really want to add another one to the list. But as a PR student, I’ve learned how important it is to understand each social platform, even the smaller or newer ones. So, I decided to challenge myself to give Bluesky a try and see what it was all about.
If you haven’t heard of it, Bluesky was created by Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter (now X). It started as invite-only and was built around the idea of being a decentralized, community-driven platform -giving users more control over what they see and how they interact. It’s now open to everyone and is being seen as a calmer, more authentic alternative to X.
First Impressions
At first glance, Bluesky feels very familiar. The layout and posting style are a lot like Twitter, but I actually prefer how it’s set up. It’s clean, easy to navigate, and doesn’t feel overloaded with ads or trending chaos. I also like that you can subscribe to different “feeds” based on your interests even if it is sports, news, entertainment or even something more niche. It makes the experience feel more personal and organized instead of random or overwhelming. My feed started with a lot of news but did slowly phase out after interacting with the app more.
A More Creative Community
What stood out to me most is how creative and thoughtful the users are. Because Bluesky’s audience is still smaller, it attracts people who genuinely want to connect. I noticed a lot of journalists, digital creators and media professionals. It’s less about trying to go viral and more about starting conversations over something that interests you. As someone studying PR, I think that’s a good reminder of what authentic engagement actually looks like. The platform feels calm, creative and intentional, which honestly, I found refreshing.
How Brands Are Using It
There aren’t a ton of brand accounts on Bluesky yet, but some are starting to explore it. Media outlets like The Washington Post and The Verge have active profiles, and a few tech and gaming brands are using it to share updates and connect with smaller, more engaged audiences. There aren’t built-in analytics or paid ads yet, so most brands use it to listen, experiment with tone, and build early community presence. It’s definitely still in that “testing the waters” phase. I think that can be a great thing for a brand to test it out and see what sticks and it’s a good reminder that being early to a new platform can sometimes give PR pros a real advantage.
Final Thoughts
After spending a week on Bluesky, I actually ended up liking it a lot more than I expected. It’s easy to use, looks clean, and encourages genuine interaction. I don’t think it’s replacing any major platforms soon, but for PR students like me, it’s worth understanding. Even if an app doesn’t become the next big thing, knowing how it works helps us see how audiences and communication trends evolve. As well as find other communities that may be harder to reach on other platforms.
Connect with me through My LinkedIn and my BlueSky
Bailey Heryford 