Communities of Practice: Bluesky Highlighted as an X/Twitter Alternative

Fostering connections and building pedagogy-based communities is top of mind for educators as they seek potential alternatives to X/Twitter. Bluesky has been cited as a top alternative as educators announce their departures and encourage their peers to join them on the new platform. However, one standout highlight from educator conversations includes discussion on how difficult it will be to find a platform that perfectly replicates the close sense of community and exchange of pedagogy Twitter has offered.

  • “I realize I really miss Twitter as it was. I relied on it for educators who made me feel less alone, for the people on the ground reporting, for live updates on situations, & for medical info from healthcare workers during the height of COVID-19. I’m so sad to see it going away.” —Educator in New York
    • “A lot of ppl went over to threads, now some on bluesky. It’s fragmented for now on the new sites, but I am hopeful it will get stronger and more like what we had.” —Teacher, N/A
    • “Yeah I feel Twitter is not the same. I, too, would come on here to gain insight and ideas in education when I was a preservice teacher and a current teacher. It really is a shell of itself.” —Elementary Teacher in Pennsylvania
    • “same same. It was supportive, engaging, challenged me in a good way, shared resources, connected, learned from folks outside my professional/personal sphere. Sigh.” —Post-Secondary Educator in Vermont 
  • “Lots of us have moved to Bluesky! I have an invite code if you’d like it.” —Post-Secondary Educator 
    • “I would love to learn more about Bluesky. Instagram is okay but I miss the community of the old Twitter.” —Educator in Oklahoma
  • “It’s definitely less terrible over at the other blue social sky place. Let me know if you want a code.” —Educator in New York
    • “Is it really? I’ve basically left social media but miss the connections I used to have here. I’d love a code to try out a better place …” —Post-Secondary Educator in New York
      • “I do think it’s better, and not everyone’s there, but it feels like a developing community. And I missed that when this place became a dumpster fire. Will DM you code.” —Educator in New York
  • “Taking this opportunity to say I’ll be on this platform a lot less, but if you want to see more of my stuff, find me on Bluesky! If you’re a teacher, ping me if you need an invite code. We’ve got a nice community over there now.” —High School Science Teacher in Massachusetts
  • “It’s hard to pull the plug on Twitter, but it provides very close to 0 value now. It’s perhaps a silly thing to be sad about, but it’s hard for me not to look back on what Twitter was, what value it provided to many (including me!) and how rapidly Elon wrecked it, and feel sad.” —Educator in California
    • “Where are you decamping to?” —Former Educator in California
      • “I’ll try bluesky but I know it’s not going to recreate the magic.” —Educator in California
    • “Does Bluesky seem promising? All the other alternatives so far have not really come close, bad as this place has become. I worry Elon has ruined this entire concept of a social media site forever, honestly, since it’s so hard to get a critical mass anywhere else.” —Educator in Oregon
      • “I don’t think we will ever recreate this. That seems most promising for academics now, but that’s thin gruel compared to what this was.” —Educator in California
      • “I am liking the academic interactions on Bluesky but still coming back here to check on things. It just feels too splintered now and I can’t decide what to post where and if I should cross post or not.” —Educator in New Jersey
  • “Everyone is hanging out on Bluesky or Mastodon these days. Apparently twitter is dying.” —Math Teacher in California 
  • “Just heard that Mr. Musk is going to eventually make everyone pay to tweet …sharpening up my Threads, Bluesky and other accounts ..” —Educator, N/A
  • “Do you need a Bluesky invite code? Many math-y folks showing up there.” —Math Teacher in Connecticut 
    • “I’m there! Same username on all the alternative apps.” —Educator in New York
  • “Jumping over to Bluesky for a while with my education-related thoughts. This is not a safe space right now.” —Elementary Teacher in New York
    • “Nice to see you over there!” —High School English Teacher in Michigan
  • “It’s not exaggerating to say that the vibe on Twitter feels like you’re trapped in a dark woodshed with a wasp nest on the hottest day of summer compared to the butterfly garden that is BlueSky.” —High School Social Studies Teacher in Iowa