Bluesky is just the beginning

The decision by the European Federation of Journalists, the largest such organization in Europe, to stop posting on Twitter as of January 20, 2025, signals a broader media shift towards social media and news sharing alternatives.

“The EFJ considers that it can no longer ethically participate in a social network that its owner has transformed into a machine of disinformation and propaganda,” the group wrote when announcing the decision. The site that many journalists are gravitating towards, currently, is Bluesky. But Bluesky is just the beginning. Journalists are experimenting with WhatsApp, Discord, and several other engagement tools.

In some sense, this reminds me a bit of the beginning era of social media, when there was no unified place where journalists had decided they would all be. In addition to a general mistrust and stronger skepticism of the altruism of big tech and social media, another major difference between the early 2000s and now is that these tools aren’t just for sharing links, but they also allow for broader experimentation and digital growth.

At KQED, we have already demonstrated how this dual approach can work, using platforms like Discord to both engage audiences and build AI-powered content discovery tools. KQED’s experience with our Forum program shows how Discord’s real-time discussion features and multimedia sharing capabilities create vibrant community spaces. But the platform offers more than just engagement — it provides structured data that can inform AI development.

That’s the key here — working in these platforms isn’t just about the short-term platform engagement work itself. It’s also about encouraging and building sandboxes for news organizations to experiment in some of the AI tools that will be important for the future.

Bluesky represents another frontier in this evolution. Its decentralized protocol offers news organizations unprecedented control over their data and audience relationships. Unlike traditional social platforms, the platform’s transparency helps news organizations maintain editorial integrity while experimenting with AI tools. Imagine a tool that uses natural language processing to identify emerging community issues on Bluesky before they become major news stories, or a tools that integrates directly into Bluesky’s decentralized protocol to help newsrooms share relevant archival content when related topics trend. WhatsApp, meanwhile, offers a more intimate connection with audiences. Many newsrooms have already launched WhatsApp channels to deliver personalized news updates, but more potential lies in using these interactions to build smarter AI tools like chatbots.

For news organizations looking to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, exploring these platforms isn’t just about finding new distribution channels — it’s about building the foundation for future AI-powered news experiences. The organizations that start experimenting now will be better positioned to understand and serve their audiences in the years ahead.