Bluesky Adds a Vdeo Tab to User Profiles

Bluesky is now firmly recognizing the importance of video content in optimizing user engagement and retention as it seeks to sustain its growing pace.

Bluesky, a social network, is focusing more on video. The firm stated Monday that it is adding a new video tab to Bluesky user profiles, after last week’s addition of a new TikTok-like personalized video stream in response to the U.S. ban on the well-known video app (which is now on hold).

Bluesky has now included a distinct “Video” button on user profiles to showcase video content, after the debut of its own dedicated video feed last week.

However, the desktop version looks far better than the app version. On a desktop, the profile screen’s three (or four, if you have “Feeds”) primary selections include the new video tab.

The tab will let users display the videos they have posted to Bluesky, whether they are original works or content they have stolen from other social media platforms, such as TikTok. However, if video takes off, it may provide Bluesky with an additional source of income in addition to merely pursuing the possibility of increased video-based social interaction. If it so chooses, the business may charge for perks like longer or better-quality video as part of its next premium membership plan.

Not all Bluesky users, meanwhile, are prepared for their network to merely become another TikTok competitor. In response to the company’s news, some users are even inquiring as to whether they would be able to turn off the tab on their personal accounts. Others are asking Bluesky to give priority to other features, such as an Edit button, that they are accustomed to on X.

Nevertheless, there is now a noticeable need and developer interest in creating video-first Bluesky clients.

Richard Lawler on TheVerge shares facts of what he has experienced on the Bluesky app, ‘‘Although Bluesky’s video uploads are still only one minute long, it should be simpler to locate them outside of feeds now that you can merely switch to that tab to see any uploaded movies.

A simple choice to block and/or delete a discussion after reporting a direct message has been added, according to the team’s latest 1.97 version.’’

Several developers are already working on “Bluesky TikTok” apps, including Berlin developer Sebastian Vogelsang, who makes the Bluesky apps Skeets and now Flashes (a “Bluesky Instagram” of sorts), and the teams behind upcoming apps Reelo and Skylight, for instance.

The Bluesky 1.97 update added a new user profile video page, along with various translation enhancements and an option for barring a person or ending a chat after reporting a direct message (DM).

Yes, there is a lot going on there. Other applications have purposefully kept their user interface components as basic as possible to assist users get to the most interesting parts.

I have a suspicion that Bluesky will ultimately need to go over this listing and maybe refine the mobile app’s selections. However, for the time being, Bluesky has included an additional profile area that will expressly assist users in connecting with video content, which, hopefully, will assist Bluesky in regaining its growing pace.

Following the U.S. election, the app had a massive surge in usage as many users discovered that Threads was not a viable way to follow real-time news discussions. This implied that X, which many people still avoid, was the only option. As an alternative, Bluesky is still the closest thing to Twitter, but it is also not subject to the capricious decisions of rich CEOs who are also generating news with their own contentious political views.

In this regard, Bluesky now provides the greatest degree of independence; but, it is still unclear if it will be able to continue operating and competing with the larger competitors without advertisements or significant financial outlays.

In this regard, Bluesky now provides the greatest degree of independence; but, it is still unclear if it will be able to continue operating and competing with the larger competitors without advertisements or significant financial outlays.

Anything would jeopardize its integrity in this regard. The Bluesky team is still committed to its decentralized strategy, but it is also obviously pursuing the major trends to spur development, which may ultimately compel a compromise in this area.

With 25 million users, Bluesky’s growth is also slowing, and the platform will find it challenging to compete with other social applications’ sheer size and prevalence.

While individual developers are creating new components that might improve the overall Bluesky experience, additional tools like this one could help better align it with a wider audience.