One Tech Tip: How to get started with Bluesky

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One Tech Tip: How to get started with Bluesky

2024-11-21 17:00 Last Updated At：17:10

LONDON (AP) — Looking for a new social media platform because X, Threads and Mastodon just aren't cutting it? You could try Bluesky.

People seeking to avoid chaos, noise and political bluster in the aftermath of the U.S. elections are noticing a different mood on the Bluesky social platform, where the vibe is seemingly welcoming and there are noticeably fewer trolls.

The site announced it had rapidly added more than a million new users in the week after Election Day, and has emerged as one of the fastest growing rivals to Elon Musk’s X and similar platforms.

If you're tempted to check out the new space, here's a guide on how Bluesky works:

Maybe you're not ready to commit to adding yet another social media account. No problem — you can still look around on Bluesky without signing up because all posts and profiles are public.

You might get a sense of deja vu because the platform's look and feel are very similar to X. That should be no surprise because Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was an early Bluesky champion. (Dorsey's no longer involved with Bluesky, which is owned and run by its executive team as a public benefit corporation.)

If you take the plunge and get an account, you'll need a username. You'll notice Bluesky handles are a little bit different because they end by default in the site's domain, .bsky.social.

You can personalize your handle to make it more memorable, by using your own website's domain or buying a custom one through Bluesky. But it might not be something most newbie users need or want to do right away.

Bluesky boasts that it gives users “algorithmic choice” to tailor the content they're shown instead of leaving it up to the whims of a centralized system.

“Our online experience doesn’t have to depend on billionaires unilaterally making decisions over what we see,” it says.

What it means is that you can follow custom feeds set up by other users, or design your own. If you tap #Feeds in the menu on the left, you'll see some default offerings like Cat Pics and Gardening. My Bangers is a list of your most popular posts by likes and Catch Up shows the site's most popular posts from the past 24 hours. You can find more by doing a search and tapping the Feeds button.

There's also the usual “Discover” feed of suggested posts and a chronological feed of accounts that you follow.

To help new users settle in, Bluesky has starter packs of recommended feeds and accounts to follow, which anyone can create and share. They don’t show up in Bluesky's search results but can be found in directories online.

Or someone might share one with you. After I signed up, a colleague pointed me to one for major news outlets. There are tens of thousands of starter packs, ranging from broadly appealing topics like Taylor Swift to niche interests like cargo bikes or U.K. comedians. You can follow the whole pack or scroll down the list to choose individual accounts.

What about people you followed on X? There's a browser extension tool called Sky Follower Bridge that will help you find X users who've migrated to Bluesky. But check before clicking the follow button to make sure it's not a different user using the same display name or handle.

Ready to join the conversation? You can write posts or reply to others but keep it short because there's a limit of 300 characters — 20 more than on X. You can also upload photos and videos, though videos can't be longer than 60 seconds. GIFs and emojis are, of course, available too.

You can still @ people by typing in their username, like posts by tapping a heart icon or use hashtags to highlight a theme. Bluesky has added a menu to hashtags, so when you click on one you'll get different options for seeing, or muting, posts on that topic.

Bluesky's decentralization ethos extends to the content control options it offers.

For starters, users can choose in their settings menu whether to see replies, reposts or quote posts in their feed. Specific words or tags can be muted temporarily, or forever, while accounts can be muted or blocked individually, or in bulk by adding them a moderation list. You can even fine tune the level of adult content that shows up in your feed.

Bluesky has a team of content moderators to police the site for material that's illegal or breaks the rules. But it's also taking a different approach by open sourcing its content moderation system in an attempt to resolve problems with traditional moderation services which it says “lack transparency and user control.”

So, individuals or groups can set up their own content filters, or labelers, that go beyond what Bluesky offers. These labelers can be used to categorize content or users, which can then be blocked or hidden. But they could also be used for informational or creative purposes, like curating or verifying content.

There are labelers to identify images generated by artificial intelligence or to fact check news posts. You can find lists of labelers online. After I subscribed to a U.S. politics labeler, some posts in my feeds were flagged “!Donald Trump” or “!Democrat politician” and hidden unless I click Show.

Follow Kelvin Chan on Bluesky

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

McMillian's pick-6 helps Broncos spoil career nights by Winston, Jeudy and beat Browns 41-32

2024-12-03 14:13 Last Updated At：14:20

DENVER (AP) — Jameis Winston had a night to remember — and one to forget.

Ja’Quan McMillian returned an interception 44 yards for a game-sealing touchdown with 1:48 remaining, and Denver spoiled career-best performances by Winston and ex-Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, beating the Cleveland Browns 41-32 on Monday night.

The good for Winston: He threw for a franchise-record 497 yards and four touchdowns.

The not-so-good: He threw two interceptions that Denver returned for scores. The Broncos had three picks for 171 interception return yards against him.

“It was my fault," Winston said. "I’ve got to play better.”

It was fully reminiscent of his best — and worst — year, 2019 with Tampa Bay, when he led the league in yards (5,109) and was second in TD passes (33) but also led the league in picks (30).

“I know I’m better than this,” Winston said. “I’m just praying for the Lord to deliver me from pick-sixes. It’s not me. Phenomenal game on offense, do some great things, but I mess it up.”

Meanwhile, Jeudy had nine catches for 235 yards — the most in NFL history by a receiver against his former team — and a TD. Jeudy played his first four seasons with Denver and was booed every time he caught the ball.

“They only boo you,” Jeudy said, "when they know there’s something great in you.”

Nik Bonitto intercepted Winston and took it 71 yards to the house late in the second quarter. Winston became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 400 or more yards with four or more TD passes and two pick-sixes.

Bo Nix finished with 294 yards passing, including a gorgeous deep ball from his own end zone that Marvin Mims Jr. hauled in for a 93-yard touchdown. Nix also threw two picks.

The Broncos (8-5) enter their bye week in the seventh and final playoff spot. Denver has a 76% probability of making the postseason, according to the NFL. The team hasn't been in the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl after the 2015 season.

“It wasn’t perfect, by any means, but we were able to finish,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. ”Big plays — the game was full of them."

Winston surpassed the Browns record of 457 yards set by Josh McCown in 2015 against Baltimore. He threw a 70-yard TD pass to Jeudy and a pair of scores to tight end David Njoku in falling to 2-3 as a starter for the Browns (3-9) since replacing the injured Deshaun Watson.

Cleveland led 32-31 on Winston’s 5-yard TD pass to Nick Chubb when Nix drove the Broncos to the Browns 9. On fourth-and-1, Payton lined up to go for it but changed his mind after a timeout. Wil Lutz kicked a go-ahead 27-yard field goal with 2:54 remaining.

Winston and the Browns had plenty of time to drive for a winning score, but Winston's throw to Elijah Moore was late and McMillian jumped the route. He fell to the turf untouched after making the catch, got up and sprinted to the end zone.

“The fact they did it twice was kind of crazy,” Nix said of the interception returns. “I'm over there sitting, the benches, have the heaters over there, and I don't even have to move. It's pretty nice for the offense when they bail us out like that.”

Jeudy, a first-round draft pick in 2020, was traded to Cleveland this spring after an up-and-down four seasons with Denver. He paused at the goal line before falling backwards into the end zone on his long TD catch. He also caught a 2-point conversion to get the Browns within 28-25.

“We had a plan going into it in terms of trying to get him open. I thought the plan was solid,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Jerry executed the plan really well. Got him open. Jameis made some throws. It’s hard in the losing effort to feel good about anything.”

The play by Jeudy came just 11 seconds after Nix threw a laser from about 4 yards deep in his end zone to Mims at around the 42. Mims caught it in stride, raced to the end zone and jumped into the stands to celebrate.

The Broncos relied on their running game in the first half, with Javonte Williams and Michael Burton scoring short TDs. It was Burton’s second TD of his 10-year career.

The Browns fell to 4-13 in the Mile High City. Dustin Hopkins missed a 47-yard field goal to the left on Cleveland’s opening drive.

Nix, who’s earned the NFL Rookie of the Week three consecutive times, threw his first interception since Nov. 3. Chased by Myles Garrett, Nix tried to force a pass to Tony Franklin over the middle. Denzel Ward reached in and deflected the ball into the air and it was caught by Greg Newsome II.

Winston and Jeudy got rolling early with a 44-yard completion on the Browns' first offensive play.

“That wasn’t supposed to go to me,” Jeudy explained.

Winston delivered a fiery pregame oration to his teammates, yelling, “It’s got to come from your heart. I don’t care about no Mile High. I care about how the Browns get down.”

Broncos: WR Jamari Thrash (shoulder) left the game. ... Ward (calf) and S Grant Delpit (head) were both off the field on Denver’s late drive for the go-ahead field goal.

Broncos: S Brandon Jones suffered a groin injury.

Browns: At Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Broncos: After a bye, host Indianapolis on Dec. 15.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl