This is why I have been trying to warn about #BlueSky.
BlueSky has just been partially bought by a cryptocurrency company "Blockchain Capital" and appointed a blockchain / cryptocurrency expert to their board:
bsky.social/about/blog/10-24-2…
The board member is a bitcoin researcher involved with NFT analytics.
BlueSky describe the tie-up with Blockchain Capital as a "natural partnership" and says the blockchain company has "a uniquely deep understanding of our decentralized foundation".
(via @jwz)
Bluesky Announces Series A to Grow Network of 13M+ Users - Bluesky
Bluesky now exceeds 13 million users, the AT Protocol developer ecosystem continues to grow, and we’ve shipped highly requested features like direct messages and video.Bluesky
This entry was edited (4 weeks ago)
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Sean
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •While true, the team in that article also state that they "will not hyperfinancialize the social experience (through tokens, crypto trading, NFTs, etc.)"
I do hope that this remains true, as the more alternatives to the bird site, the better. A lot of people still see Mastodon as too isolated, which is fair.
FediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to Sean • • •@sirsean
The statement means nothing though.
It doesn't say they won't use those things, it just says they won't "hyperfinancialize the social experience" with those things. What does that actually mean? Why didn't they just say "We won't use them"?
What we do know is they've appointed to the board someone whose expertise consists entirely of bitcoin, NFTs, DAOs and blockchain:
forbes.com/profile/kinjal-shah…
"... researched bitcoin, ... joined crypto VC firm Blockchain Capital... funding round for an NFT analytics platform... cofounder of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)..."
Kinjal Shah
Kinjal Shah (Forbes)Checkmite
in reply to FediThing 🏳️🌈 • • •Flauschdompteur
in reply to Checkmite • • •Flauschdompteur
in reply to Flauschdompteur • • •FediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to Flauschdompteur • • •" they'll pay that back in a year."
This isn't a loan. The blockchain VCs now have partial ownership of Bluesky and a seat on the board. They will want profits, and then bigger profits after that, forever. It's not sustainable.
Also, even before this deal, the CEO of BlueSky is also from a blockchain/cryptocurrency background.
As far as I can tell, most of the BlueSky board is now blockchain/cryptocurrency people.
Petra van Cronenburg
in reply to FediThing 🏳️🌈 • • •Mike Fraser :Jets:
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •jwz
in reply to Mike Fraser :Jets: • • •@mike
1: Collect investments from speculators.
2: Cash out at or before IPO, sale, or bankruptcy.
3: Blog post about the "incredible journey" we all took together, from your yacht.
Easy peasey!
Bruce Elrick
in reply to jwz • • •Lemon $queezy
Kailee ♾️ Voting Midterms God
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •bluesky is nazi Jack, elons bff, new scam. Ditch that trash. delete bluesky & fb.
@FediTips @jwz
Tor Iver Wilhelmsen
in reply to Kailee ♾️ Voting Midterms God • • •jwz
in reply to Tor Iver Wilhelmsen • • •Oblomov
in reply to jwz • • •and he left BS to back nostr, that was a cryptoshilling decentralized social network right from the start.
BlueStaggo :blobfoxcomfycomputer:
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •So this isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Is the lack of information in the post an act of fearmongering? Possibly. Read your news, people!
jwz
in reply to BlueStaggo :blobfoxcomfycomputer: • • •I'm just blocking everybody who is this credulous about press releases. *plonk*
FediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to BlueStaggo :blobfoxcomfycomputer: • • •@bluestaggo
The only thing that statement says about their future is they won't "hyperfinancialize the user experience".
As that phrase is meaningless, they haven't really said anything about their future plans.
What we do know for sure from the press release is they have just partially sold themselves to a blockchain company, and appointed a blockchain specialist to their board. We also know their CEO has a background in blockchain and cryptocurrencies too.
alebaffa
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •Before coming to easy and too quick speculations, I would suggest to just read their official statements about this matter and wait (link: bsky.social/about/blog/10-24-2…).
They say the won't make any use of crypto-shit. This blog post is there and can be used against them the day they will do the opposite.
In the future.
If it will ever come, that day.
Until then...speculations = nonsense.
Bluesky Announces Series A to Grow Network of 13M+ Users - Bluesky
BlueskyFediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to alebaffa • • •@alebaffa
None of this is speculation, the text is all directly from their own press release.
"They say the won't make any use of crypto-shit"
That's not what they said. The only thing they ruled out was "hyperfinancializing the social experience", but that phrase doesn't mean anything.
Here's what it comes down to: why would they partially sell themselves to a blockchain company and put a blockchain expert on the board if they don't intend to use blockchain?
jwz
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •Stephen Shankland
in reply to jwz • • •Ian Betteridge
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •FediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to Ian Betteridge • • •Ian Betteridge
in reply to FediThing 🏳️🌈 • • •pds/ACCOUNT_MIGRATION.md at main · bluesky-social/pds
GitHubFediThing 🏳️🌈
Unknown parent • • •@alebaffa
VCs aren't interested in building serious use cases, they're interested in making as much money as possible and then selling to someone else.
That's why so much of the internet is "enshittified", because the owners of sites and services care more about getting rich than what actually happens to the users or services they build.
Blockchain seems to encourage this behaviour to go to extremes, as seen in the documentary "Line Goes Up":
youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9…
- YouTube
www.youtube.comalebaffa
Unknown parent • • •@FediThing At some point I think it's what will happen: Bluesky will introduce paid plans for advanced features, but the protocol is anyway open and your data are yours.
Want to build something new with AT Proto? Go on, nobody will stop you.
VCs are happy, people are happy too.
It's not black or white.
FediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to alebaffa • • •They absolutely will stop me, because AT protocol is deliberately structured to depend on expensive relay servers which I cannot afford to run myself.
This is in contrast to ActivityPub where running your own server costs a tiny fraction of the price and is truly independent.
AT seems to have been designed to make companies money rather than give control to the grassroots community.
Alex Chapman
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •jwz
in reply to Alex Chapman • • •FediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to Alex Chapman • • •"A series funding" means buying part of the company:
investopedia.com/articles/pers…
"Series A, B, and C are funding rounds ... providing outside investors the opportunity to invest cash in a growing company in exchange for equity or partial ownership. ... The terms come from the series of stock being issued by the capital-seeking company."
When you take funding like this, you are giving them ownership of part of your company.
And the blog does not say they won't use blockchain. They say they won't "hyperfinancialize the social experience" but this is a meaningless phrase.
What Is Series Funding A, B, and C?
Nathan Reiff (Investopedia)Alex Chapman
in reply to FediThing 🏳️🌈 • • •Glenn
in reply to Fedi.Tips • • •FediThing 🏳️🌈
in reply to Glenn • • •It's not someone giving someone else money. This isn't a loan or a donation.
Bluesky are (partially) selling themselves to Blockchain Capital, that's why there is someone from Blockchain Capital on Bluesky's board now.
Selling your company to VCs tends to lead to enshittification because VCs usually want lots of profits and growth, even if it's unsustainable in the long term. There's an example of something similar happening here: waxy.org/2024/01/the-quiet-dea…
The Quiet Death of Ello's Big Dreams - Waxy.org
Andy Baio (Waxy.org)