Bluesky to introduce payments in coming months as an alternative to advertising
Executives of the social network Bluesky said at TechCrunch Disrupt that payments will launch in the coming months. It is the first step in a strategy to earn revenue without relying on advertising.
Bluesky, a decentralized social network, plans to introduce payment features in the coming months. It is the first step in the company's strategy to make money without depending on advertising. CEO Toni Schneider and COO Rose Wang laid out the plans on Thursday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference.
The company wants to build on activity already taking place on the network: users sell goods, raise funds successfully and support one another. Schneider said that when someone sees something they like on the network, they should be able to back it financially. The solution is meant to work not only for Bluesky but across the whole network, including other apps built on it.
Leadership change
Schneider, formerly CEO of Automattic, took over Bluesky in March after longtime chief executive Jay Graber stepped down. Onstage he said he was surprised by the reaction to his appointment, with some users joking that it marked the beginning of the end for the platform. Such comments reflected fears that new leadership would bring unwanted changes. Schneider noted that users can move to another platform if they dislike new features, and said this keeps the leadership accountable.
An alternative to ads
The executives argued that advertising is not the only viable business model for a social network. Wang said there is a narrative that advertising is inevitable and will ruin the network. She noted that Schneider built a $10 billion business at WordPress, in which a billion dollars goes back to the parent company and the rest to the ecosystem.
Wang also pointed to Bluesky's status as a Public Benefit Corporation, which she said places the company's mission at the center of its strategy. In her words, the company needs to make money, but its infrastructure means it cannot lock people in, and value should go to those who create it.
Bluesky aims to give users ownership of their digital identities and control over their networks. Wang stressed that the company will begin with payments, but the goal is to change the infrastructure layer itself rather than simply build another app.
