1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:04,720 Should business owners be on blue sky? I'm going to 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:08,500 break it all down in this episode of the mindful marketing podcast. 3 00:00:08,639 --> 00:00:12,400 But first, a word from our sponsor. Riverside is 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,125 the all in one podcast recording and editing tool that I use 5 00:00:16,125 --> 00:00:19,965 for this Right Here show. I use it to edit not only the audio 6 00:00:19,965 --> 00:00:23,645 in the video, it is like chef's kiss, magical, making the entire 7 00:00:23,645 --> 00:00:27,340 process so, so easy. Plus I 8 00:00:27,340 --> 00:00:31,020 love their magic AI clips. Their 9 00:00:31,020 --> 00:00:34,380 little AI robot in the background pulls out the most 10 00:00:34,380 --> 00:00:38,220 impactful moments of the episodes without me having to comb through and do it 11 00:00:38,220 --> 00:00:41,565 myself, resizes them for social media. So those vertical 12 00:00:44,605 --> 00:00:47,964 all come from magic AI inside of Riverside. It's literally one 13 00:00:47,964 --> 00:00:51,725 click. It spits out 10 clips. I pick the best one and 14 00:00:51,725 --> 00:00:55,265 away I go saves me so much time. If you wanna get on the Riverside 15 00:00:55,485 --> 00:00:58,329 train, check it out today, the links in the show notes and make sure to 16 00:00:58,329 --> 00:01:01,930 use my code DREA, D R E A, at checkout to get 17 00:01:01,930 --> 00:01:04,030 15% off your membership. 18 00:01:05,530 --> 00:01:09,210 Alright, let's talk about Blue Sky because my big question is, do you really need 19 00:01:09,210 --> 00:01:13,034 another social media app? I mean, there's so many to 20 00:01:13,034 --> 00:01:16,795 choose from. And so in this episode, I am gonna talk about all the 21 00:01:16,795 --> 00:01:20,314 facts of Blue Sky, how it started, my experience. But I also 22 00:01:20,314 --> 00:01:24,040 wanna share with you some of my thoughts along the way about, is 23 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,800 this a good platform for business owners? My ultimate 24 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,320 goal is by the end of this episode, you make the choice for yourself. Yeah. 25 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:35,100 I have opinions. Okay. I've gotta share them. Okay. But I also want you 26 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:38,680 to look at this objectively and try to figure out, is this a 27 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,435 platform for you. So let's start at the beginning. And 28 00:01:42,435 --> 00:01:46,035 the context here is important. The timeline here is 29 00:01:46,035 --> 00:01:49,875 important. I've got notes that I'm looking at as I am recording this 30 00:01:49,875 --> 00:01:53,720 episode because I wanna make sure I get this right. So 31 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,860 here's the timeline of it all. In, 32 00:01:58,119 --> 00:02:01,899 late, 2022, Elon Musk 33 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,820 purchased X, which was Twitter at the time, for 34 00:02:05,995 --> 00:02:09,435 $44,000,000,000 So it kind of started in late twenty twenty 35 00:02:09,435 --> 00:02:12,735 two, wrapped up by 2023, 36 00:02:13,355 --> 00:02:17,115 and then was renamed, in July 2023. It 37 00:02:17,115 --> 00:02:20,715 went from being called Twitter to being called 38 00:02:20,715 --> 00:02:24,360 x. So we're headed up on the two year anniversary of this, and I'm 39 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,960 still over here calling it Twitter. But anyways, not me dead 40 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,100 naming, x. Anyways, so 41 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:35,240 that is the the context because Blue Sky is 42 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,575 a direct, a direct competitor 43 00:02:39,115 --> 00:02:42,335 to x, formerly known as Twitter. 44 00:02:42,635 --> 00:02:45,855 So Blue Sky launched in February 45 00:02:47,035 --> 00:02:50,430 of twenty twenty three. So remember, 46 00:02:51,530 --> 00:02:55,050 Elon Musk purchased Twitter in in 47 00:02:55,050 --> 00:02:58,430 late twenty twenty two. And the person 48 00:02:59,209 --> 00:03:02,650 who launched Blue Sky is the 49 00:03:02,650 --> 00:03:06,135 former Twitter CEO. Okay? Jack 50 00:03:06,135 --> 00:03:09,355 Dorsey. And so BlueSky is a direct competitor 51 00:03:09,895 --> 00:03:13,735 to that market. And I think Addy1, who's frustrated with the experience 52 00:03:13,735 --> 00:03:17,575 on X, is definitely eyeballing BlueSky. Now to put this 53 00:03:17,575 --> 00:03:20,635 in context, Threads launched in 54 00:03:21,140 --> 00:03:24,740 July of twenty twenty three. So all of this is happening at the same time. 55 00:03:24,740 --> 00:03:28,360 We've got this text focused, short form 56 00:03:28,420 --> 00:03:32,100 social media platform all emerging. So people are 57 00:03:32,100 --> 00:03:34,965 getting upset with their experience on x, 58 00:03:35,605 --> 00:03:39,045 namely Elon Musk being a lot of reasons why 59 00:03:39,045 --> 00:03:42,584 people were getting upset with that. They were looking for alternatives. 60 00:03:43,364 --> 00:03:47,125 Threads launches, in July, the 61 00:03:47,125 --> 00:03:50,940 same year that Blue Sky launches in February. So we've got 62 00:03:50,940 --> 00:03:54,780 Blue Sky in February, Threads in July. So they're neck and 63 00:03:54,780 --> 00:03:58,540 neck as far as launches go, but the Reds has a 64 00:03:58,540 --> 00:04:02,380 power of meta behind it. Blue Sky does not. So the big thing about 65 00:04:02,380 --> 00:04:05,980 Threads was that you especially in the early days, you log in with your Instagram 66 00:04:05,980 --> 00:04:09,515 account and you import all of your followers over 67 00:04:09,515 --> 00:04:13,275 there. You import your bio, your photo. You can still do that to this 68 00:04:13,275 --> 00:04:17,035 day. And it really helped grow the user base 69 00:04:17,035 --> 00:04:20,235 of threads. When you think about the comparison, Blue Sky right now has 70 00:04:20,235 --> 00:04:23,870 35,000,000 users. Threads has over a hundred million 71 00:04:24,090 --> 00:04:27,690 and growing. So Threads is definitely the larger platform of the 72 00:04:27,690 --> 00:04:31,289 two. However, people also do not like 73 00:04:31,289 --> 00:04:33,050 Meta, especially right now. And, 74 00:04:35,005 --> 00:04:38,765 the interesting changes they've made in regards to community safety, a lot of 75 00:04:38,765 --> 00:04:42,385 people are not liking Meta, AKA Facebook, Instagram threads. 76 00:04:42,605 --> 00:04:46,205 So then we have this alternative of Blue Sky. And the 77 00:04:46,205 --> 00:04:49,919 thing about Blue Sky right now is that the vibes 78 00:04:49,919 --> 00:04:53,520 are very similar to early day x, early day threads. 79 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,740 Okay? It's this weird kind of nerdy 80 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,800 energy. The early adopters are hanging 81 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,275 out. The people who are too avant 82 00:05:04,275 --> 00:05:08,115 garde for x or threads are hanging out there, and 83 00:05:08,115 --> 00:05:11,875 it doesn't feel corporate. There aren't any ads. It feels 84 00:05:11,875 --> 00:05:15,330 like everyone is on equal footing, and 85 00:05:15,550 --> 00:05:19,229 it feels like less performative than some of the other 86 00:05:19,229 --> 00:05:23,070 platforms are feeling right now in my experience. Now the interesting 87 00:05:23,070 --> 00:05:26,130 thing about Blue Sky as well is the way that they handle 88 00:05:26,509 --> 00:05:30,030 their username. So, yes, you can get your username. So mine 89 00:05:30,030 --> 00:05:33,205 is onlinedreya.bsky, which is 90 00:05:33,205 --> 00:05:36,805 bluesky.social. K. So that's mine. But you can also do 91 00:05:36,805 --> 00:05:40,005 your domain name. So if you claim it, you could do at 92 00:05:40,005 --> 00:05:43,764 onlinedreya.com, which I think is pretty clever, especially when you think 93 00:05:43,764 --> 00:05:47,550 about, claiming names and how other people can 94 00:05:47,550 --> 00:05:50,990 swipe up your name. You can basically get your domain name at Blue 95 00:05:50,990 --> 00:05:54,210 Sky. Their whole goal with this is have a a similar 96 00:05:54,350 --> 00:05:57,995 decentralized model, and I think it's gonna be more successful 97 00:05:58,055 --> 00:06:01,895 than some of the others out there just because of ease of use. K? 98 00:06:01,895 --> 00:06:05,575 Do you feel like some of the others, it's not easy to 99 00:06:05,575 --> 00:06:09,175 use, and this is. And I think that is very key for an emerging 100 00:06:09,175 --> 00:06:12,840 social media platform. It's too complicated. And I think that's one of the reasons why 101 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:16,360 Instagram is losing popularity right now. It's too dang 102 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,120 complicated. We have way too many ways that we can create content and post, 103 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,815 and they're constantly changing things around on us. You know, 104 00:06:23,815 --> 00:06:27,495 for instance, this this month, they're they're removing the notes 105 00:06:27,495 --> 00:06:31,335 feature after spending years trying to figure it out. It's just gone now. 106 00:06:31,815 --> 00:06:35,175 But we still have you know, we have stories. We have direct messages. We 107 00:06:35,175 --> 00:06:38,660 have, reels. We have carousels. We have 108 00:06:38,660 --> 00:06:42,420 static posts. We have broadcast channels. There are so many different 109 00:06:42,420 --> 00:06:46,100 ways you can create content on Instagram. I think it's confusing, especially for 110 00:06:46,100 --> 00:06:49,835 someone just coming into the platform. Whereas you look at a platform like Blue 111 00:06:49,835 --> 00:06:53,035 Sky, and I would say that the strategy for Blue Sky is very similar to 112 00:06:53,035 --> 00:06:56,735 threads. When you look at Blue Sky, it is very simple. 113 00:06:56,794 --> 00:07:00,315 In its simplest form, you log in, you can post 114 00:07:00,315 --> 00:07:04,030 immediately a text based post, and away you 115 00:07:04,030 --> 00:07:07,490 go. You also log in, and you're immediately served, 116 00:07:08,270 --> 00:07:11,710 content, which is, I think, the thing that made TikTok so 117 00:07:11,710 --> 00:07:15,390 powerful is its algorithm. So you start scrolling, you look at 118 00:07:15,390 --> 00:07:18,850 stuff, and Blue Sky goes, maybe you wanna see more of this. 119 00:07:19,125 --> 00:07:22,885 Okay? Now that is the background on 120 00:07:22,885 --> 00:07:26,585 what is Blue Sky. Let's talk about who is on Blue Sky because 121 00:07:26,725 --> 00:07:30,325 it's not for everyone. So I'm not going to come out and say 122 00:07:30,325 --> 00:07:34,020 everyone should be on Blue Sky. Really, please be wary of people who say 123 00:07:34,020 --> 00:07:37,639 that. Also be wary of people who say no one should be on Blue Sky. 124 00:07:38,180 --> 00:07:41,699 It's the answer is almost never that simple. It is more 125 00:07:41,699 --> 00:07:45,139 complicated, friends, just like life. Alright. So who is on Blue 126 00:07:45,139 --> 00:07:48,675 Sky? Journalists. I think journalists are having a great 127 00:07:48,675 --> 00:07:52,215 time on that platform, especially as the antithesis 128 00:07:52,435 --> 00:07:55,794 to X. And I think that more and 129 00:07:55,794 --> 00:07:59,475 more journalists are gonna go to that platform. Journalists need a place 130 00:07:59,475 --> 00:08:03,250 where they source real time news. And right 131 00:08:03,250 --> 00:08:07,010 now, that's not really happening. I do think X still is the 132 00:08:07,010 --> 00:08:10,470 place for that, but it's almost like journalists are using it begrudgingly, 133 00:08:11,410 --> 00:08:14,930 trying to use threads. But the way that Meta handles real time 134 00:08:14,930 --> 00:08:18,425 news is abhorrent, and and you can't see real time 135 00:08:18,425 --> 00:08:22,105 news. They they actively reduce the 136 00:08:22,105 --> 00:08:25,465 chatter around real time news stories per their own 137 00:08:25,865 --> 00:08:29,380 like, they they've admitted to this. They have admitted to doing this. I 138 00:08:29,380 --> 00:08:32,679 remember distinctly, last year 139 00:08:33,620 --> 00:08:37,460 when president Trump was on his campaign trail and there 140 00:08:37,460 --> 00:08:41,299 was an assassination attempt. And I was on threads at the time, did not 141 00:08:41,299 --> 00:08:44,179 see it. Somebody told me. So I went to threads again to try to look 142 00:08:44,179 --> 00:08:47,955 for it, could not find any information. So I actually went to x. And 143 00:08:47,955 --> 00:08:51,715 immediately, like, right I didn't even search. Just right when I opened it up, there 144 00:08:51,715 --> 00:08:55,495 were journalists kind of sharing and resharing, information 145 00:08:55,635 --> 00:08:59,370 about that real time event. Right? And so when I think 146 00:08:59,370 --> 00:09:03,130 about real time events, there is not really a great 147 00:09:03,130 --> 00:09:06,810 social platform for that right now, and x was that. And the 148 00:09:06,810 --> 00:09:10,570 amount of people that have left the platform make it very challenging. So 149 00:09:10,570 --> 00:09:14,315 I do think Blue Sky could potentially win in that category. I 150 00:09:14,315 --> 00:09:17,935 also see Blue Sky in the art category, 151 00:09:18,395 --> 00:09:21,995 and this is where I got myself in trouble, y'all. So I am on Blue 152 00:09:21,995 --> 00:09:25,755 Sky as online, Drea, of course, but I also have my alternative account 153 00:09:25,755 --> 00:09:28,714 that nobody knows about over on Blue Sky. And, 154 00:09:29,970 --> 00:09:33,810 y'all, my eyeballs just lingered a second too long on some 155 00:09:33,810 --> 00:09:37,250 Not Safe for Work content. And when I tell you Blue Sky picked that up 156 00:09:37,250 --> 00:09:39,889 in a hot minute and now I see it all the time, I'm like, oh 157 00:09:39,889 --> 00:09:43,410 my gosh, it reminds me of early days acts and 158 00:09:43,410 --> 00:09:46,905 Tumblr, where they're just straight up porn accounts, 159 00:09:46,905 --> 00:09:50,505 basically. And you're like, this on the Internet for free, people putting their whole 160 00:09:50,505 --> 00:09:54,265 selves out here. And so I 161 00:09:54,265 --> 00:09:57,865 now see that on my Blue Sky, and I'm like, okay, this is the vibe 162 00:09:57,865 --> 00:10:01,545 over here. And I think that there is a space for that sort 163 00:10:01,545 --> 00:10:05,250 of art, adult art as well in Blue Sky, but also other 164 00:10:05,250 --> 00:10:09,010 sorts of arts. I think artists, they really don't 165 00:10:09,010 --> 00:10:12,710 like the restrictions around Instagram. 166 00:10:13,170 --> 00:10:15,110 I also think that there is this 167 00:10:16,585 --> 00:10:20,185 inherent, danger of your artwork being stolen 168 00:10:20,185 --> 00:10:23,705 or copied on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and so 169 00:10:23,705 --> 00:10:27,465 artists are looking at platforms like Blue Sky for that. I also see 170 00:10:27,465 --> 00:10:30,160 a lot of tech, STEM, and education, 171 00:10:30,940 --> 00:10:34,320 companies on Blue Sky as well, specifically 172 00:10:34,620 --> 00:10:38,060 those in the STEM space having having their 173 00:10:38,060 --> 00:10:41,660 conversations. And then anyone related to politics or 174 00:10:41,660 --> 00:10:45,375 cultural movements, I do see on Blue Sky as well. What 175 00:10:45,375 --> 00:10:48,995 I don't see on Blue Sky is a lot of mainstream 176 00:10:49,535 --> 00:10:53,215 mainstream brands, mainstream accounts. Blue Sky has this 177 00:10:53,215 --> 00:10:56,575 kind of underground vibe, kind of like this 178 00:10:56,575 --> 00:10:59,875 hipster, like, cool kids club 179 00:10:59,935 --> 00:11:03,370 vibe. And so I don't see a lot of the mainstream brands 180 00:11:03,430 --> 00:11:06,730 being active over there. You know? Like your Starbucks, your 181 00:11:07,110 --> 00:11:10,870 your, Sephora, your Chipotle, like your 182 00:11:10,870 --> 00:11:14,310 Wendy's. Like, I don't really see them being quite active on those 183 00:11:14,310 --> 00:11:17,965 platforms just yet, most likely because the platform itself 184 00:11:17,965 --> 00:11:21,405 isn't mainstream. The users the the people on the platform, the 185 00:11:21,405 --> 00:11:24,925 accounts aren't mainstream. And so while other 186 00:11:24,925 --> 00:11:28,605 platforms like Facebook and Instagram, just by sheer number of users have 187 00:11:28,605 --> 00:11:32,240 mass appeal. I do think the downside and the danger of Blue Sky right now 188 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,860 is that it it doesn't have that mass appeal. So if you are a brand 189 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:39,600 that needs that, you may be disappointed by your 190 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,255 experience in the platform. I do think the 191 00:11:43,255 --> 00:11:47,015 other thing about people on Blue Sky is that similar 192 00:11:47,015 --> 00:11:50,855 to threads, hard selling is a no go. And I actually think 193 00:11:50,855 --> 00:11:54,535 this is more of a cultural movement in how we're using social media, just 194 00:11:54,535 --> 00:11:57,750 generally speaking. It kind of reminds me of, 195 00:11:58,770 --> 00:12:01,750 TV ads. So back in my day, 196 00:12:02,930 --> 00:12:06,530 back in my day, we didn't have no Netflix. Alright? We you turned the 197 00:12:06,530 --> 00:12:10,335 TV on and you saw what you saw. I I can't wait 198 00:12:10,335 --> 00:12:13,715 to explain this to my kids because my three year old 199 00:12:13,935 --> 00:12:17,695 gets shocked when an ad plays because most of the time, we're not watching 200 00:12:17,695 --> 00:12:20,980 the YouTube with ads. Like, YouTube Kids has no ads. Right? But if I play 201 00:12:20,980 --> 00:12:23,940 a YouTube video she asked for a video of frogs the other day. I played 202 00:12:23,940 --> 00:12:27,700 the YouTube video of the frogs, and she was like, mom, an ad. 203 00:12:27,700 --> 00:12:31,460 Skip it. And, like, could not wait the five seconds so that I could skip 204 00:12:31,460 --> 00:12:33,700 the ad. She was like, oh my gosh. Skip it. Skip it. I'm like, give 205 00:12:33,700 --> 00:12:37,274 it the five seconds, then I can skip, honey. She could not understand this 206 00:12:37,274 --> 00:12:41,115 entire concept even though she recognized that it was ad. Well, back in my 207 00:12:41,115 --> 00:12:44,475 day, we could not skip it. K. We could not skip it. And so brands 208 00:12:44,475 --> 00:12:48,235 had to get creative in this new day and age. Right? Brands are 209 00:12:48,235 --> 00:12:51,949 getting creative about how they can reach their people. If nobody's 210 00:12:51,949 --> 00:12:55,490 watching ads, if they're skipping it as soon as possible, we literally 211 00:12:55,550 --> 00:12:59,069 scroll past a sponsored post on Facebook. How do they get in front of 212 00:12:59,069 --> 00:13:02,857 people? It requires subtlety. And so I think with a platform like Blue Sky 213 00:13:02,857 --> 00:13:06,485 and, subsequently, all social platforms is gonna 214 00:13:06,485 --> 00:13:10,165 require subtlety when it comes to promoting your brand and your 215 00:13:10,165 --> 00:13:14,005 offers. We're in the day and age where we wanna skip the ads 216 00:13:14,005 --> 00:13:17,500 actively. Whereas, you know, back in my 217 00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:20,420 day, we sat there and watched the ads. Or when the ads came on, we 218 00:13:20,420 --> 00:13:24,020 went and did whatever chores, went to the bathroom break. We were watching the ads. 219 00:13:24,020 --> 00:13:27,620 And especially as kids, we were asking our parents for the stuff we saw in 220 00:13:27,620 --> 00:13:31,115 ads. My kid doesn't do that because she doesn't see ads 221 00:13:31,115 --> 00:13:34,955 hardly ever. She's asking for the stuff, that she sees in 222 00:13:34,955 --> 00:13:38,495 the shows themselves. So for example, 223 00:13:39,115 --> 00:13:42,780 miss Rachel has a miss Rachel doll now. The entire 224 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,360 show is the product, and now my kid wants the product. And I 225 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,420 think business owners will be smart to, 226 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,480 use that to their advantage and start thinking outside of the box when it comes 227 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,100 to advertising. So whether you're thinking about Blue Sky or other platforms, 228 00:13:57,975 --> 00:14:01,654 start thinking that way. But in general, Blue Sky is more of this 229 00:14:01,654 --> 00:14:05,175 underground vibe. And I think if you don't have a 230 00:14:05,175 --> 00:14:09,015 community that has the underground vibe, you may wanna skip it. Alright. Here 231 00:14:09,015 --> 00:14:12,230 are a few other things to think about about, 232 00:14:12,690 --> 00:14:16,530 Blue Sky if you're considering it for your business, and then I'll share my own 233 00:14:16,530 --> 00:14:19,910 thoughts and opinions in full at the end. 234 00:14:20,370 --> 00:14:23,650 But one of some of the pros of Blue Sky is that you can see 235 00:14:23,650 --> 00:14:24,728 the chronological feed pretty much right away. I mean, they do have the discover feed, 236 00:14:24,728 --> 00:14:25,910 but you also cannot see a chronological feed, which a 237 00:14:29,495 --> 00:14:32,935 chronological feed, which a lot of people are fighting for. Now me, 238 00:14:32,935 --> 00:14:36,715 personally, I don't care. I like a good algorithmic 239 00:14:37,095 --> 00:14:40,315 experience. I think just like anything, you can have a bad algorithmic 240 00:14:40,535 --> 00:14:43,940 experience. But in my opinion, I I wanna see what I see. Chronological 241 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,680 feed to me sometimes means I'm seeing the same person post over and over 242 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,640 again, and I get tired of that. Give me something new. Give me something fresh 243 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,080 and exciting. My personal opinion. But if you are craving a 244 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,704 chronological feed, that's just part of the charm of Blue Sky. Blue Sky 245 00:14:57,704 --> 00:15:01,384 also has no ads, similar to leads or threads, though that could be changing soon. 246 00:15:01,384 --> 00:15:04,904 All of these platforms seem to make money somehow. K? I do like 247 00:15:04,904 --> 00:15:08,584 the, idea of the custom domains that you can claim, you know, 248 00:15:08,584 --> 00:15:12,300 gives you some control over your brand, over your story, over your your 249 00:15:12,300 --> 00:15:15,740 IP, if you will. I do love the early 250 00:15:15,740 --> 00:15:19,260 adapter vibe. I think that's one of the reasons why I'm, like, a social 251 00:15:19,260 --> 00:15:23,100 media, like, fan because I love the early adapter vibe. Like, give it to 252 00:15:23,100 --> 00:15:26,795 me. I love it. I think that there's an energy about it by being 253 00:15:26,795 --> 00:15:30,475 some of the first and being excited about something. And I 254 00:15:30,475 --> 00:15:34,315 like that because it's not crowded, you know, 35,000,000 users may be like, oh, that's 255 00:15:34,315 --> 00:15:38,154 a lot. But the niches within that, mean that there's stronger 256 00:15:38,154 --> 00:15:41,400 connections. And that's really why I love threads in the beginning and why I still 257 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,760 love it now is that it feels like I have more of a touch point, 258 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,140 a pulse point with real people. It doesn't feel 259 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:51,580 curated. You know? It doesn't feel like someone created a content calendar 260 00:15:51,905 --> 00:15:55,505 and planned this post three months ago. You know? Like, sometimes that 261 00:15:55,505 --> 00:15:59,105 starts feeling like, yeah, it just feels too curated. And 262 00:15:59,105 --> 00:16:02,385 so I like that it's like you post it and then the people that are 263 00:16:02,385 --> 00:16:05,345 reading it, I'm not I'm like, they I know that they're reading it. Right? This 264 00:16:05,345 --> 00:16:09,170 isn't just, you know, some social media manager somewhere or, you know, 265 00:16:09,170 --> 00:16:12,870 it wasn't scheduled through, like, a scheduling tool, and they're never gonna see it. Like, 266 00:16:13,010 --> 00:16:16,770 it feels community and communal. Some of 267 00:16:16,770 --> 00:16:20,195 the things I don't like about Blue Sky is the smaller, 268 00:16:21,215 --> 00:16:24,975 community. 35,000,000 users, not a lot of people, and also 269 00:16:24,975 --> 00:16:28,415 not really my people, especially in my 270 00:16:28,415 --> 00:16:31,855 professional business side. I was talking about my alt account in a sec, but my 271 00:16:31,855 --> 00:16:35,480 professional side, I don't see a lot of 272 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,320 online business owners on there. It feels like the ones that are on there are 273 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,840 really digging in and trying to make a presence there, but, 274 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,920 I just don't see a lot of adaption from my people. Some marketers 275 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,694 are on there talking about it, but it's mostly marketers talking about Blue Sky, which 276 00:16:49,694 --> 00:16:53,535 feels a little echo chamber y. And so I'm just like, I have 277 00:16:53,535 --> 00:16:57,375 my handle. I post it to say I'm not posting, and that's that 278 00:16:57,375 --> 00:17:01,134 on that. Now on my alt account, this is the account that I use for 279 00:17:01,134 --> 00:17:04,760 reading my, naughty, romance novels. 280 00:17:04,900 --> 00:17:08,420 K? So on that account, I have, yes, stumbled 281 00:17:08,420 --> 00:17:12,179 across some, not safe for work rabbit holes, which, you know, we're not gonna 282 00:17:12,179 --> 00:17:15,780 talk about that. But I am seeing a lot of authors over there, so that's 283 00:17:15,780 --> 00:17:19,395 the art side of it. But again, the authors are there 284 00:17:19,395 --> 00:17:23,075 promoting their books. I don't really see a lot of conversation happening, 285 00:17:23,075 --> 00:17:26,375 and that's where I think the beauty of that platform will be. 286 00:17:26,755 --> 00:17:30,275 Many of the authors that I followed and connected with still use 287 00:17:30,275 --> 00:17:33,150 Facebook. K. So I know people like to talk on Facebook, 288 00:17:33,930 --> 00:17:37,550 but a lot of people are still on that platform and using it very actively. 289 00:17:37,610 --> 00:17:41,370 And so even to that demographic, like, if I were to, you know, 290 00:17:41,370 --> 00:17:44,810 talk with an author about where they should be, I'd go, 291 00:17:44,970 --> 00:17:48,525 probably Facebook because a lot of the people who read are 292 00:17:48,525 --> 00:17:52,365 active on Facebook. The people on Blue Sky, especially, like, you 293 00:17:52,365 --> 00:17:56,205 know, mass market romance novels, not so much. I also 294 00:17:56,205 --> 00:18:00,045 think that Blue Sky doesn't have a lot of the features that some of 295 00:18:00,045 --> 00:18:03,510 the other platforms have. This is a pro and a con when I think about 296 00:18:03,510 --> 00:18:06,890 it. So similarly to threads, there isn't, like, a direct message 297 00:18:07,350 --> 00:18:10,650 feature. And then as a business, there's not a lot of business tools 298 00:18:10,710 --> 00:18:14,534 available. And so while it's not Instagram with, 299 00:18:14,534 --> 00:18:18,134 like, feature overwhelm, some of the features and experience is a little bit 300 00:18:18,134 --> 00:18:21,894 lacking. There's no monetization yet 301 00:18:21,894 --> 00:18:25,735 either. If you're a content creator, and you're creating content on there, they don't have 302 00:18:25,735 --> 00:18:29,409 a plan for that just yet. But it, 303 00:18:29,409 --> 00:18:32,870 like I said, has that underground, like, warehouse vibe feeling, 304 00:18:32,929 --> 00:18:36,450 especially since it was invite only in the early days. Now it's open and 305 00:18:36,450 --> 00:18:40,049 available to everyone, but it does still have that feeling. Okay. 306 00:18:40,049 --> 00:18:43,190 So let's move on. My thoughts. As a mindful marketer, 307 00:18:44,845 --> 00:18:48,125 I do not think Blue Sky is like, o m g. You have to be 308 00:18:48,125 --> 00:18:51,965 on this platform. K? I did think that about threads, and I'm very 309 00:18:51,965 --> 00:18:54,684 biased about that. But I did think that about threads, and I made a lot 310 00:18:54,684 --> 00:18:58,240 of content about threads. I created a course on threads. I'm on threads every day. 311 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,080 Okay? I love it. Blue sky to me feels like a, this could 312 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,600 be fun, question mark. You know, like, I feel like if you 313 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,280 have, the time to do this, then I'm like, yes, 314 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,675 explore the platform. I think if you 315 00:19:12,675 --> 00:19:16,195 miss x, you know, if you miss that early days Twitter 316 00:19:16,195 --> 00:19:19,875 experience, it could be for you. If you 317 00:19:19,875 --> 00:19:23,635 are a journalist, to me, I'm like, okay. Yeah. You may wanna look at it. 318 00:19:23,635 --> 00:19:27,030 At least claim your handle, take a look around, see if your other journalist buddies 319 00:19:27,030 --> 00:19:30,490 are on there. K? Because I do think journalists are craving 320 00:19:31,190 --> 00:19:35,030 that space, and it could be them for that. I also think if you're 321 00:19:35,030 --> 00:19:38,710 an artist, especially, of the adult variety, check 322 00:19:38,710 --> 00:19:41,695 out Blue Sky. There's a lot of, 323 00:19:42,174 --> 00:19:45,875 adult entertainers on that platform, it seems, because of their, 324 00:19:46,335 --> 00:19:50,174 kind of decentralized model. They're not really, cracking down 325 00:19:50,174 --> 00:19:53,715 on that, whereas other platforms, especially Meta, is really strict about that. 326 00:19:54,350 --> 00:19:57,310 And then if you left a task, like my marketer is out here, y'all listening 327 00:19:57,310 --> 00:20:01,150 to this. If you're like, I'm curious. Yeah. Create an account. Scroll around. See 328 00:20:01,150 --> 00:20:04,830 what you see what you like. But I'm gonna say, you wanna 329 00:20:04,830 --> 00:20:07,745 pass on it if you didn't say yes to any of that. But especially if 330 00:20:07,745 --> 00:20:11,505 you already are on two, three, four platforms, please don't add Blue Sky to 331 00:20:11,505 --> 00:20:15,205 the mix. You're you're gonna overwhelm yourself. And 332 00:20:15,265 --> 00:20:18,804 right now, I just don't see it having the return on investment. Okay? 333 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,159 I also think you should pass if your community is not 334 00:20:23,159 --> 00:20:26,760 techie. There are a lot of people I work with where they're like, my community 335 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:30,279 is not really techie. Then I'm like, Facebook or Instagram all the way. Like, just 336 00:20:30,279 --> 00:20:34,044 don't worry about the new platforms. Because if your your people 337 00:20:34,044 --> 00:20:37,664 aren't techie, they're probably not even on Blue Sky. Right? They're probably 338 00:20:37,884 --> 00:20:41,644 not. I'll use my mom as an example. Hopefully, she doesn't 339 00:20:41,644 --> 00:20:45,485 listen to this. My mom is what I would consider a pretty, like, 340 00:20:45,485 --> 00:20:49,269 medium tech person. She grew up, you know, 341 00:20:49,269 --> 00:20:53,110 in the tech world. I say grew up, but, like, she, used to work 342 00:20:53,110 --> 00:20:56,789 for IBM. I remember she had, like, multiple computers at 343 00:20:56,789 --> 00:21:00,070 home back in the day. Again, back in my day, like, this was kind of 344 00:21:00,070 --> 00:21:03,295 odd for our home to have multiple computers. Like, 345 00:21:04,235 --> 00:21:06,315 when I back in my day when I was growing up, you had the one 346 00:21:06,315 --> 00:21:09,995 the one computer everyone used. We had multiple because of my mom's 347 00:21:09,995 --> 00:21:13,755 job at IBM. We had those IBM computers, which are they 348 00:21:13,755 --> 00:21:17,510 no longer exist. But anyways, so I consider my mom a medium 349 00:21:17,510 --> 00:21:21,350 tech person. She's been on on Facebook for a while and just got an Instagram 350 00:21:21,350 --> 00:21:24,790 account. I would not tell her to get on threads or blue sky at this 351 00:21:24,790 --> 00:21:28,090 moment. Her people are on Facebook primarily, 352 00:21:28,310 --> 00:21:32,005 maybe some on Instagram. K? So if your community is the same, 353 00:21:32,005 --> 00:21:35,625 skip it. And then if you're feeling burnt out, like, if you're like, 354 00:21:35,845 --> 00:21:39,685 OMG, I'm listening to this episode regretfully. If she 355 00:21:39,685 --> 00:21:43,365 says yes, I'm gonna scream into my pillow. Like, if that's you, just skip it. 356 00:21:43,365 --> 00:21:47,040 I'm giving you permission. Go take a nap and drink some water instead. Okay? 357 00:21:48,300 --> 00:21:51,740 Now if you are curious and you're like, I don't know if I wanna go 358 00:21:51,740 --> 00:21:55,260 all the way in on this yet, but maybe, the very least, go claim your 359 00:21:55,260 --> 00:21:58,300 name, claim your handle. I always say that for every new platform. Just claim your 360 00:21:58,300 --> 00:22:00,844 name. I mean, this isn't new new, but it is growing, and so I think 361 00:22:00,844 --> 00:22:04,668 that could be helpful. You can also do helpful. You can also do a 362 00:22:04,668 --> 00:22:07,735 quick search for your name engine. So if people are talking about you, especially if 363 00:22:07,735 --> 00:22:10,955 you have a unique name, you may wanna see if there's any content out there, 364 00:22:11,415 --> 00:22:14,760 if you have a brand name. If you're a big brand, I would recommend this 365 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:18,600 too, like the, you know, the Duolingo's of the world. Go on go on Blue 366 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,660 Sky. Search Duolingo and see people are talking about you. 367 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,820 And with any new platform, I just recommend being a lurker first. 368 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,560 I know there's an instinct to, like, go and create your first content, but I'm 369 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,274 a huge believer that, like, you gotta get a feel for the room. 370 00:22:33,274 --> 00:22:36,715 To me, it feels like, you know, going to, like, a backyard barbecue and just, 371 00:22:36,715 --> 00:22:40,154 like, coming in and going without reading the room and the vibe, just being like, 372 00:22:40,154 --> 00:22:43,515 hey, party, taking your shirt off. And it's like, woah. You don't know if it's 373 00:22:43,515 --> 00:22:47,320 that kind of party. You know what I mean? So read 374 00:22:47,380 --> 00:22:50,920 the dang room, lurk, scroll, engage, 375 00:22:51,300 --> 00:22:54,100 look for some of your favorite content creators and brands and see if they're on 376 00:22:54,100 --> 00:22:57,780 there, what are they posting. Just explore a little bit, and then don't overthink it. 377 00:22:57,780 --> 00:23:01,284 I think some of the early day, early adopter 378 00:23:01,284 --> 00:23:04,745 vibiness of these platforms is that we don't have the content calendars. 379 00:23:05,445 --> 00:23:09,205 And, that can be a whole mood in and of itself. And so if 380 00:23:09,205 --> 00:23:12,164 you wanna have that mood, if you wanna be like, I wanna see what I 381 00:23:12,164 --> 00:23:15,679 see, I wanna post what I post, then that could be a great 382 00:23:15,980 --> 00:23:19,820 exploration for you. As with any new platform, unless you're 383 00:23:19,820 --> 00:23:23,179 a marketer, marketers, we have different rules, but as with any new platform, I 384 00:23:23,179 --> 00:23:27,020 recommend carving out 10 to 20% of your time to spend on 385 00:23:27,020 --> 00:23:30,835 that platform. Okay? So marketing time, even just 386 00:23:30,835 --> 00:23:34,275 social media time, let's say you give yourself an hour a 387 00:23:34,275 --> 00:23:38,115 week. Okay. Let's carve out, you know, ten minutes of 388 00:23:38,115 --> 00:23:41,730 that, and let's go spend ten minutes on Blue Sky. Okay? You've 389 00:23:41,890 --> 00:23:45,490 gotta use this in moderation. Otherwise, you can burn out, you will burn out, or 390 00:23:45,490 --> 00:23:49,330 feel extremely dissatisfied with the experience. I'll end 391 00:23:49,330 --> 00:23:53,169 with this thought. You don't have to join everything. You don't have to 392 00:23:53,169 --> 00:23:56,985 be on everything. You don't have to be everywhere. It's 393 00:23:56,985 --> 00:24:00,425 nice to know that Blue Sky's out there. It's nice that you're listening to this 394 00:24:00,425 --> 00:24:03,785 and going, I feel informed. But if by the end of this episode, you go, 395 00:24:03,785 --> 00:24:07,165 I'm gonna pass. Good. You did it. You did the thing you came to do. 396 00:24:07,465 --> 00:24:11,230 Do not let FOMO pull you into a platform that you don't need. But 397 00:24:11,290 --> 00:24:15,130 if you do feel inspired to be on Blue Sky, go for 398 00:24:15,130 --> 00:24:18,490 it. Be excited. Be curious. Go in with no 399 00:24:18,490 --> 00:24:22,170 expectations and enjoy the process and see what you 400 00:24:22,170 --> 00:24:25,865 see. Now if you want help choosing 401 00:24:25,865 --> 00:24:29,305 platforms that work for you, I've got a freebie for you. Go to 402 00:24:29,305 --> 00:24:33,145 onlinejoy.com/platform. And in that platform 403 00:24:33,145 --> 00:24:36,985 guide, I will help you decide using some information which platform 404 00:24:36,985 --> 00:24:40,460 is good for you. And if you need hand holding to help, that's what we 405 00:24:40,460 --> 00:24:44,140 do in the lab. K? So, yes, I provide a lot of free resources like 406 00:24:44,140 --> 00:24:47,980 this one, but in the lab, I get so specific with my my members. You 407 00:24:47,980 --> 00:24:51,740 get unlimited community support. So on our, What's the Scoop call for this 408 00:24:51,740 --> 00:24:55,265 month, I was literally giving examples to specific lab 409 00:24:55,265 --> 00:24:59,105 members like, oh, hey. Lucy, your business is about this. You could do this. 410 00:24:59,105 --> 00:25:02,565 Or Carol, your business about this. You could do that. K? So 411 00:25:02,945 --> 00:25:06,540 if you want that level of support, unlimited strategy support 412 00:25:06,620 --> 00:25:10,220 from myself, come on in and join us in the lab. It is, like, my 413 00:25:10,220 --> 00:25:13,580 favorite place to hang out on the Internet. Can I say that? I'm very biased 414 00:25:13,580 --> 00:25:17,100 clearly, but I love it in there. Anyways, I will see you next week with 415 00:25:17,100 --> 00:25:20,940 another episode. Until then, make sure you rate and review us on Apple 416 00:25:20,940 --> 00:25:24,400 Podcasts, and Spotify helps keep us in 417 00:25:24,492 --> 00:25:27,951 the top 100 marketing podcasts. 418 00:25:28,043 --> 00:25:31,502 And that's all because of your 419 00:25:31,594 --> 00:25:35,053 support, my friends. I'll talk to 420 00:25:35,144 --> 00:25:38,012 you later. Bye for now.