Don’t look now, Elon Musk, but Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is about to launch a public trial of a new social media app.
The app Bluesky is preparing for a test run shortly after Musk spent $44 billion to buy Twitter. There is already a waiting list of users waiting to try the beta version of the app.
It’s not yet clear how Blueksky will ultimately look or function, but it has been dubbed Twitter’s rival.
Bluesky’s “AT Protocol” is touted as a crucial element of a revolutionary “federated social network” that integrates ideas from the latest “decentralized technologies into a simple, fast and open network,” according to a company blog. Users will presumably be able to switch between multiple social media platforms using a single browser – Bluesky.
As a potential Twitter competitor, Dorsey tweeted earlier this month that it’s a rival for “any company trying to own the underlying social media fundamentals or users’ data.”
(But some critics believe Bluesky may be part of a clandestine collaboration between Dorsey and Musk.)
Twitter clients could be looking for a new landing spot in the market, even as Musk has tried to allay concerns about what Twitter could become under his leadership. He told would-be advertisers in a message earlier this week that Twitter won’t become an entirely uncensored “free-for-all hellscape,” as he’s hinted at in the past. But his latest actions suggest that what he’s creating could be just that.
Musk was quick to reiterate that he doesn’t support Twitter lifetime bans, no matter how appalling the messages and attacks from users.
And Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, is already back on Twitter after being rebuffed for appalling anti-Semitic smears. But Musk claims he had no role in the rapper’s return and his account was restored before completing the Twitter purchase.
Several high-profile celebrity users have already announced that they are leaving Twitter now that Musk is in charge.
The story goes on
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.