Bluesky is a fresh horizon for data professionals, shining brightly in a way that sets it apart. For a closer look at what makes it so unique, check out Counting Stuff, Randy Au’s blog. He shares insights on how Bluesky feels different from Twitter, Mastodon, and LinkedIn for data enthusiasts. Randy captures the unique energy and community spirit, but I’d like to share why Bluesky resonates with me personally.
Social networks follow life cycles. Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours across platforms like Flickr, Fotolog, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Instagram, Mastodon, and now Bluesky. I’ve seen each one grow from niche to mainstream, reach a tipping point, and eventually mature. Bluesky is still in its growth phase, attracting a mix of hopeful newcomers and those eager to revive the collaborative spirit of earlier networks.
I won’t rant about platform ownership, protocols, or policies. In the end, these are privately owned companies, and we all play by their rules. Twitter introduced me to incredible people in the data community, especially in Spain, where events like Databeers and R-Groups helped us meet offline. Some of these initial online connections turned into working relationships, learning opportunities, and meaningful exchanges. Twitter also allowed me to watch top talent showcase their work and communicate technical ideas—a fantastic lesson in marketing and presentation.
Today, though, I mainly doomscroll Twitter for news, Formula 1, and a bit of economics and soccer. For a couple of years, it’s mostly been a cross-posting tool for this blog and a source of entertainment. When it comes to data and AI—my main passions aside from photography—Twitter once offered a window into cutting-edge tech and research. But now, with newsletters and RSS feeds, Twitter feels replaceable. I subscribe to focused content through Reader, which cuts through the noise and lets me read with purpose. In the end, I’ve stopped having conversations on Twitter. LinkedIn has filled some gaps, though it often feels like a place where people pitch rather than converse.
In just a few days on Bluesky, I’ve had more meaningful interactions than in two years on Twitter. For instance, recently, I discussed the pros and cons of using LLMs to create alt descriptions for images. Bluesky still lacks entire groups, like the Hugging Face team, who share valuable insights on data annotation and open models on Twitter . But more data professionals, AI researchers, founders, and tech managers join daily, and it’s likely others will follow. It’s the perfect time to join a space full of people eager to share and connect—the essence of a real-life community.
Welcome packs
I’m trying to contribute by curating welcome packs to help newcomers find interesting people to follow. Bluesky lets users create lists, which offer a curated way to explore the community. At this early stage, these lists are a great resource to build a tailored feed. I’ve created a few starter packs:
- AI and data people, including ML specialists, data engineers, R users, and AI skeptics
- Spanish Data & AI
- Tech managers, VPs, and C-level leaders
- ML/AI researchers from top universities and companies
- Hugging Face people
I might create more as I discover new groups, but many others have already put together great starter packs for:
- Data People by Christian Minich
- Nice Data People by Arynn
- Data Ladies by Mariah
- R-stats by Jeremy Allen
- Statistics by Alex Hayes
- Cartographers by Dominic Royé
- Data Engineers feed by Simon Späti
- Google Deep Mind by Marc Lanctot
- Diversify’s tech
- Economists in Spanish by Santiago Sanchez-Pages
- Philosophy by Keith Wilson .
So, if you see me talking a lot about Bluesky, it’s not to persuade you to leave other networks that work for you. I just want to share a place that’s been refreshing to explore. It’s worth experiencing these golden early moments in social networks, where connecting is easy before the frenzy of exponential growth hits—if it ever does.